Come and Go With Ed
by therealshackleford1
Summary: A story about two sets of individuals, the Eds and the Kankers, who manage to help each other discover more about themselves than they could have realized. As Double D grows closer to Marie, feelings begin to take affect and the two groups begin to understand a lot more about each other and life as hardship has its way with them.
1. Chapter 1

_I have officially come from the bowels of my vows of silence to jot down this here story, essentially completely re-worked from the original that graced this website some seven years ago, written frantically in the scorching summer heat, by hand, on college ruled paper. This story takes place in the year 2003, with the characters aged to their older, teenage forms. Regardless, I hope you enjoy, and if you read the original, I hope you enjoy this one too. _

_-Shackleford. _

_Chapter 1 – Wasting Time _

A dart of broken sunbeam jousted through a chilly April window frame as if it too was in need of some warm air, broken from the chilly morning frost. The clock by the bed read seven, but it felt more like six. The clocks eternal profession was to alert the young man just next to it that it was indeed time to awaken once more and greet the day, as all days had been greeted in the past. A meeting was established every weekday morning between the sun, the clock, and the boy. Whether the boy showed up or not was his choosing, though the sun and clock were desperate to make sure that his arrival was as hasty as one could be. With what little energy the cold, cold sun had, the job was left up to the clock, and so it readied itself before clanking its great metal arm against its great metal bell, in a ring so loud and vulgar that Quasimodo himself would have said, "_Enough!" _

Riiiiing….riiiiiingg…..ringggggggggggggg

Gggggggggggggggggg

Gggggg

"Ooh deary me I will be late I just know it! Curse these late primaveral mornings!"

A voice like this only cried out in such a way in times of certain distress and torment. This young man certainly felt this occasion called for it, and with exams hastily approaching, every ticking second was worth its weight in gold. Solid, shiny gold.

He quickly jumped out of bed, his flannel pajamas doing their duty in warming the young man as he whirled his legs into the bathroom, approaching the speed of light in the process. Water rushed out of the faucet to greet his toothbrush, the suds greeting his teeth. He carefully counted each up-stroke, each down-stroke. One. Two. Three. Rinse. Repeat. _"Messy, messy, messy…" _

He tapped the water out of the brush before returning it to its rightful home, adjacent to the toothpaste tube, both neatly placed in a plastic holder labeled TOOTHBRUSH/PASTE. Off with the sleeping clothes, on with the school clothes. He was always careful to lay out his next day's attire the night before, which was quite convenient in situations such as these. A red sweater, the oh-so typical black pants, and of course the signature black cap secured upon his raspy, large head; the outfit made the young man transform into his daily form, one ready to conquer the school day with optimal efficiency. But oh look at the time…._Messy, messy, messy….._

He wrapped his coat around his skinny, pale body tightly, bracing himself for this spring chill. Just before flipping his lights, he grabbed his notebook, with the scribbled-in-Sharpie name reveling itself in the top right corner, Edd M.

Edd, or as just about everyone knew him, Double D, rounded the staircase that led to his living room with utmost speed. He wasn't running as late as one would think, but his two pals surely were, as always. But before he left, his tummy reminded him that some nutrition was in order, and so a quick run by the fridge was probably not the worst idea he had so far. As he approached the fridge door, a yellow sticky note stared back at him and thus his internal narration, which read off every morning like a weather report, began thusly:

_Dear Eddward, _

_Please be sure to throw out the leftovers from last week, mop the kitchen floor, and do be sure that your father's coat is returned from the cleaners before tomorrow night. Call me when you get off from school, and please remember to eat your breakfast! _

_Love, Momm_

With the narration completed, a little sigh was let out before a blueberry muffin was grasped from the fridge and eaten with care before Edd, or rather, Double D, closed and locked his front door, assaulted by an unusually chilly April morning, with even the sunlight now hiding behind the clouds for comfort. Wind whipped the tail of his hat to-and-fro, as the cul-de-sac he called home crunched and crinkled beneath his shoes, hardened by the frost. His teeth clanked and chattered, possibly making even more noise than his alarm clock had. He walked on in his self-sure way, with each crunchy step being greeted with a mumbled _Ooh! _or an _Oh my!_

In another house down the road, sunlight also came beckoning for warmth and refuge, but its visit was most certainly an unwelcome one in this instance. Blinder-shaded eyes were immune to its penetration, and the tiger-striped bedsheets provided all the warmth necessary for this young man. The only motivation provided for waking up was the fifth snooze-button rendition of a classic this young man really took to heart. As the digital clock lit up at 7:30, the boozy horns opened up and the singer belted out: _It's not unusual to be loved by anyone….it's not unusual to have fun with anyone…_

A groggy and sleep-filled voice began to hum along with the verses, rolling over ever so slightly so that three springy hairs could rise up to their rightful place.

_But when I see you hanging about with anyone….._

_It's not unusual to see me cry,….._

_ I wanna die!_

*TAP TAP TAP*

"Eddy, Eddddddy, it's time to wake up now! Time to get up we're sure to be late for school! Eddy would you _please_!"

Double D rapped at the bedroom window for sometime before noticing the whiff of Tom Jones in the air, continuing to shout out his concerns for dear Eddy's school presence. Eddy eventually let out a _huh? _Before lifting his blinders long enough to see Double D's smiling face and fisting banging on his window, blanketed in the early morning sun. Double D awkwardly waved at him with his banging-hand.

"Bug off will ya Double D! Can't a man have a decent morning without the sockhead comin' around to mess things up!"

"But Eddy….the _school bus…."_

"Pipe down will ya, I can't hear my tunes over all your racket!" Eddy pulled his blinders off and cranked up his little radio alarm

_It happens everyday, no matter what ya say! _

_Why can't this crazy love _

_ Be minnnnnne! _

Eddy snapped his fingers and hummed along before finally Double D just couldn't take anymore. With a whirl up, he pushed the door in and scurried up to Eddy, sitting on the edge of his bed quite complacent with his Tom Jones wailing away. Double D's index finger precisely flicked the rather large OFF button down and watched as Eddy still scatted and snapped along to the beat, unphased by his friend's angry glare.

"Eddy, clothes on, _right now please!" _Double D scolded as Eddy popped his eyes open and his little hairs pricked right up.

"Alright alright already, jeesh. You're starting to sound like my mom…."

"And rightfully so Eddy, you're in need of some parental supervision obviously.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, why don't you do me a favor Double D: take that sock off your head and stuff it in your mouth!"

"_Ooh dear lord Eddy…." _

Eddy slid on his jeans and long-sleeved shirt, his big head poking out the top as Double D stood idly by, tapping his foot rapidly and glancing at his watch every few seconds. This ticking of the watch escalated and amplified in Double D's mind; the image of the ticking hands zoomed in for him until he spaced out and began to imagine the gears slowly moving to generate the sound _tick…tock…tick…tock_

"Alright Sockhead let's hit the road!" Eddy exclaimed as he wrapped a wooly scarf around his fat neck and opened his door.

"Coming Eddy!" Double D let out as his little feet scurried over, following behind the still stout Eddy.

The two friends walked next to one another, very different in their patterns. Eddy's shuffling way of walking was contrasted to Double D's more swift and rapid pace. Also contrasted were their expressions; Double D wore a quite giddy grin while Eddy wore his straight-laced frown as if his life depended on it. School was not Eddy's main concern in life, quite the opposite of Double D. Both boys had aged, yet their contrast to one another had remained unchanged. Eddy was still considerably short in stature, with his three little hairs making up a quarter of his height still. Double D was like a long narrow green bean, tall and thin. His growth spurt had come around the age of fourteen, and like his father, he was a tall six-foot young man, his hat adding an additional few inches. Eddy wore his acne like a teenager should, while Double D's young face was relatively unblemished, thanks in large part to his tiresome nightly skincare routine. Eddy grumbled under his breath as the chilly air began to thaw at the coming grips of morning sunlight. Ed's house lay in their direct path, and it still scared them all the same.

Ed hadn't changed much at all from his child form, still tall (taller still than Double D, at six-foot five) and with his prickly hair to match. His two friends came upon his basement window with a certain look of disgust, peeping in long enough to catch a glimpse of the incarnation, recognizing their routine morning visage of their lumpy-headed amigo.

There sat Ed in his armchair, the television set still tuned into a late night creature-feature television program. Ed was only in his underwear, with his puberty-gifted little chesthairs (of which Eddy was eternally jealous) curling around his bare chest. Drool dripped in drops and plops down his chin and onto the precious Naugahyde of his chair where it pooled thusly. Both friends stared in and watched, amazed at how precious yet disgusting this spectacle truly was.

"Beautiful, isn't it Eddy…?" Double D pondered as he gazed on,

"_Beautiful…_? More like _beautifully disgusting!" _Eddy retorted as the drool dripped evermore into the accumulating pile beside Ed's arm. "Let's end this now before I throw up…"

Eddy used his key to unhatch Ed's basement window so that he and Double D could slide on in as Ed slept on. Both friends dropped in, and as Eddy scooted his stocky body through the window and planted on the ground, dusting himself off in the process, he called out to Ed:

"Wake up already Lumpy, we ain't got all day!" He clapped his hands and stomped his feet with Double D nervously gritted his teeth.

Ed's eyes popped open with a jut of surprise and he shot up out of the chair, the wind from his departure nearly stronger than the gust blowing outside.

"I'm up Eddy I promise!" Ed cried out as he landed in the arms of Double D, who nervously held him up (while struggling greatly in the process).

"Ed please get off me…" Double D quietly said as his frail arms began shaking under his friend's weight.

"Oh yeah, sorry Double D, ahaha." Ed chuckled in his usual way before planting his feet to the floor and jutting over to his clothes pile to find his outfit for today. He pulled through mountains of undies and socks in search of a pair of pants. Eddy looked around and took in the true sight of all the pizza boxes, soda cans, and candy wrappers that blanketed Ed's floor like a carpet.

"Ed, you ever thought about making some _big _life changes and, I dunno, _cleaning this nasty dump up!" _Eddy shouted out.

"Uh-uh Eddy!" Ed called out as he finally grabbed a wrinkled up shirt to go with his wrinkled up blue jeans, "you know I don't have thoughts!"

"Oh yeah, how could I forget…" Eddy sighed as he was grabbed around the shoulders by the now clothed Ed, who had also grabbed Double D so that the trio were shoulder-and-shoulder for the fourth time this week. Eddy grimaced before he lightly picked up Ed's jacket sleeve and removed it from his shoulder, dusting it off.

"To the bus stop, awayyyyy!" Ed cried out as the three tumbled up the stairs and out onto the cul-de-sac street, braced by that chilly wind trying to out-compete with the blades of sunlight now cutting through the dense clouds.

The three Eds skipped down the road as Ed rambled on about the monster movie he had seen the night before, _Night of the Living Shrimp Cocktails. _He proceeded to go into great detail about how the humans worked to develop a secret sauce to defeat the shrimps, much to the dismay of Double D, who winced the whole way through the explanation. 

"….and then the laser guns were fitted with the sauce rockets, and then…"

Ed was stopped short by Eddy, whose arm swung out and lobbed him across the stomach.

"Aw crap, baldy beat us to the stop this morning!" Eddy said as he got visibly frustrated.

Ahead of them was of course Jonny, who sat under the tree, giddy as he always was. Jonny had matured into a short, still bald young man who still wore his Jesus sandals and hummed happy tunes when all alone. Plank had matured too, growing into a longer two-by-four with marker-pocked acne along his woody face. Jonny had been seeing the school counselor for quite some time, beginning when he started demanding that Plank have his own desk and locker at high school.

"Well hello there Jonny, chilly this morning is it not?" Double D said as he waved his hand and approached him with a smirking Ed and reluctant Eddy by his side.

"Ooh hiya there Double D, Ed, and Eddy! Me and Plank here were just wonderin' where you guys were!" Jonny said as he stood up with his books.

"Yeah yeah save it for the lumber baldy, we were just runnin' a little late this morning." Eddy said as he waved his hand and turned the opposite way.

The Eds and Jonny were the only four in the neighborhood that routinely took the bus to high school every day. Kevin had moved to a different town a number of years ago while the boys were still in middle school, much to their excitement. Nazz got her own car for her sweet sixteen, and Rolf drove his tractor to school. Jimmy and Sarah were still in eighth grade, so they didn't start school until an hour after the Ed's. However, the Kankers rode the bus everyday, and boy did the Eds know it. The trailer park was the first stop on the bus route, so the Kankers always got dibs on the long bench seat in the back. Lee Kanker would occasionally launch spit-balls and other projectiles at Eddy, while May Kanker would sometimes throw sticky balls of paper at Ed's head. Marie Kanker, the middle-child, with her deep-blue hair, would usually just remain quiet, glaring out the window until they pulled up to the bus stop at the cul-de-sac, as the air brakes let out and the door was flagged open by the nameless driver.

The Eds and Jonny piled on the bus, with the Eds trying their best to avoid eye contact with the Kanker sisters as they took their seats in the middle of the bus.

"Look Marie…" Lee Kanker said in her gravely voice which turned into a whisper towards the end, "there goes your man!" Her elbow ribbed into the stomach of Marie who now blushed ever so slightly and pretended not to notice.

"Oh shut up Lee, go back to making your spit balls why don't ya?!" Marie quipped back.

"Gladly!" Lee said with a smirk before she spat a big wad on a piece of notebook paper and began rolling it into little balls.

The bus road on to Peech Creek High School, with the sun at its back and the wind pushing against its cold sheet metal exterior.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2 – The Whispering Room_

The bold yellow school bus finally made its final stop in front of the withering and tall Peach Creek High School, where young minds either came to be molded or to be forsaken, the choice wasn't theirs, however.

And thus, the Eds piled off in their typical way, with Eddy of course leading the pack, followed by Ed, with Double D trailing his friends while constantly stopping to dust off some part of himself. The hollow thuds of locker doors slamming and the quick stripes of shoes scuffing floors filled the air as the two big glass doors opened and the fluorescent light cast its web across the face of the Eds, causing Eddy to squint. Double D's face lit up by the noises of academia and the light cast upon it, this was truly what he considered his home. Home always felt so…quiet, so empty. Noise only came in two forms: the morning alarm or the rambunctious racket of one of his friends doing God knows what. Home was an end to a means for Double D, simply a place to hang his hat and prepare for the next day's schoolroom subjects. This however, this school was home for him; a place where his brain could feel welcome along with the tomes of knowledge that lined the walls of the library; nothing could harm him when he was cocooned in the volumes of learning that he gleaned through everyday when boredom struck him. Home is a state of mind, and he truly began to understand this as his high school years passed him by. His friends never really understood him, being the smartest of the cul-de-sac can do that for a boy. Double D was in the college-preparatory Advanced Placement courses, with his two friends being placed in the rather simple regular classes. Such an intellectual gap separated the boys, and this gap become more and more obvious as the years ticked by and graduation slowly approached without hesitation. Things were changing, but no one had the courage to understand why.

The boys were now coming to the close of their junior year of high school, with one year left after this before, as Eddy says, they "_make us put on a dress and wear a pizza-box hat in order to get a piece of paper telling us we can get the hell outta here!"_. Eddy didn't share Double D's enthusiasm about school, likely to no one's surprise. Eddy just didn't like being surrounded by four walls; they bothered him and closed him in to a world that he knew had to be out there, somewhere. The immature attitude of his brother certainly didn't do much to scare him, but it did check him enough not to drop out or lag too far behind the high school crowd. He was, as ever, still quite the delinquent he was in childhood; only this time the consequences were more severe for the actions he took. It wasn't uncommon to find him sitting in the _In-School Suspension _room, tapping his eraser to his paper in endless duds and thuds. School just wasn't _for _Eddy; he would much rather think about anything else, like what he'd be doing that weekend. His delusions sat in making large sums of money, and that was about it for him. His grades floated on the surface of passing, and his parents rode him hard about his apathy towards his studies. In his world, Eddy was a cool cat, and didn't need no education no way. After all, what good is history or science when he could just make a living selling used cars at his father's lot for the rest of his life. Afterall, he did learn from the master. Eddy's father, also named Edward, was the fastest-talking used car salesman in Peach Creek. His face adorned billboards and bus benches all over the town, and his wacky commercials were ubiquitous. Eddy grew up understanding the art of the scam, because his old man had it in the bag himself. But his dad wanted more than that for Eddy. "_If only you'd apply yourself, you'd find this education-thing a lot damned easier than you're makin' it, bud" _his father would often tell him after the report cards came out and Eddy's read:

D  
D  
D  
D  
C

Eddy just plain didn't like being told what to do, which is tough in high school when so many try to tell you what to do, but few of them will ever disclose why you have to do it. All Eddy really wanted was money, and school didn't give him that desire; that raw, monetary desire.

They Eds walked their way down the hall, and eventually made it to Double D's locker. The color scheme of the school reflected its name, with light pastel peach walls and alternating orange-and-white colored floor tiles. The lockers were all a burnt orange color with bright silver locks; however, a few decades of wear and neglect and left many of the lockers coated in dents and scratches, much to Double D's dismay. However, he did his best to keep his locker as spiffy as he could, and it showed. He used his trusty label-maker to attach his name to the outside, **EDD. **He carefully twisted the knob around to fit his combination, and thus the sheet metal popped open and the contents open for all to see. The locker was of course neatly arranged, with all the textbooks organized based on schedule, and a few metal cups for pencils, pens, and other various office supplies necessary for these education routines. Double D carefully removed his jacket before placing it in his locker, and took out his AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and AP Government textbooks to carefully place in his bag for the first half of the day's learning.

"Curse these heavy books, but my how they entice the eager learner!" Double D said as he strapped up his bag and lifted one solitary index finger into the air, making sure his point was assured on the ears of his two friends.

"Yeah yeah who needs 'em…" Eddy scoffed with a wave of his hand. "You'd think with all the lifting you do on those things you'd have guns like these, huh? Huh?" Eddy said as he lifted back his sleeves to reveal what he imagined to be arms of pure muscle, but were simply the scrawny arms typical of teenage boys. Double D winced at his display while Ed simply gazed confused and scratched his particularly flat noggin.

"But Eddy, you know guns aren't allowed at school!" Ed called out in his typical goofy way.

"Pipe down Lumpy! It's just a figure of speech, ya know?" Eddy quipped as he pushed his sleeve back down angrily. Ed simply chuckled and looked back at Double D, who had now closed his locker door shut.

While no one would vouch for Ed as some sort of Einstein-level genius, he was not the apathetic rebel-without-a-cause that Eddy had fashioned himself as. Ed quite enjoyed school. It gave him routine and structure, and of course mashed potatoes and gravy were served every day in the cafeteria, so what wasn't to love? Ed of course wasn't so good at the advanced or difficult subjects, but he excelled in literature and art classes. Ed even earned a spot on the high school literary magazine, where he wrote horror/sci-fi short stories and did a weekly comic strip known as _The Adventures of Gravy Boy. _He found a lot of enjoyment in the school's theater department and acted in many of the plays put on by the school. He didn't have any true plans after school, because truth be told, Ed just didn't think for anything further than three minutes in the future. He simply lived for what he enjoyed: monster movies, comic books, gravy, and his friends. That's all that really mattered to him, and that's okay. It did alienate him from his family a little, particularly his mother, who had always tried to push Ed to do more and be more. His father, on the other hand, was quite proud of his boy and only wanted what was best for him.

"Okay gentleman, let us go to those bastions of learning then, shall we?" Double D said with a smile as he turned to his friends.

"Yeah, _sure…_" Eddy sarcastically replied while rolling his eyes.

"Go go go!" Ed called out as he took off in his speedy walk, followed by the other Eds. Then along came Rolf.

Rolf was strolling down the hallway in a very happy step when he glanced and saw the Eds approaching towards him. "Hello there, Ed boys!" he called out "How are you on this day that my Nana's plums turn pink?"

"Well hello there Rolf, great to see you! Is your Nana better after her little bout of flu?" Double D asked as he reached out for a friendly handshake from Rolf; however, Rolf extended it to a hearty pat on the back, one which nearly knocked the breath out of old Double D.

"Yes yes, quite good, yes!" Rolf said with a smile on his face, "Nana will be back to stuffing the Octopus in no time, brainy Ed boy!"

"_What's _your grandma doin' to that octopus again Rolfy boy?" Eddy asked in a tone of both slight curiosity and disgust.

Rolf either didn't hear him or ignored him all the same. "Well Ed boys, Rolf must be off now. Much learning is to be from the class of science today. Goodbye, _Ed boys!" _And with that, Rolf trotted down the hallway, his fluffy hair flopping along the way. Physically Rolf had not changed much beyond the usual height or acne, but he now sported a quite striking set of sideburns and his physical brawn was not to be underestimated by the sight of his arm muscles. He was a tall young man, physically fit from years of tilling and planting on his Nana's fields. But his personality still reflected that of the sweet, naïve boy that played alongside the cul-de-sac kids all those years ago. The boy will still there, concealed beneath the brawn.

It was at this point that Eddy looked up at the clock and saw that it was fifteen minutes until classes started, and he desperately needed to wet his whistle before the school day.

"Well boys, it's been a good one" Eddy said as he pointed his thumb towards the stairwell that capped off the end of that particular hallway, "but I gotta see a man in the lunchroom about a carton of chocolate milk. See ya!" Eddy then backed away before turning around in his faux-cool fashion and strutting down the hallway. He passed by one girl with curly blonde hair, clicked his tongue and made a finger-pistol directly towards her: "Hey baby, what's goin' on? Wanna grab some milk with the E-man?"

A look of disgust came over her face as her friend adjacent to her began to chuckle under her breath. "Eww gross, get lost geekbait!" she exclaimed as she continued walking up the hallway, never even looking in Eddy's general direction.

"Later!" Eddy said as he completely shrugged off any sign of rejection in favor of his overwhelming ego and confidence.

Double D turned to Ed and said politely "Ed, dear friend, I must go to my chemistry class now. We're covering Gibbs free energy today! Quite exciting, don't ya think?"

"That Gibbs guy must be poor, Double D; giving all his energy away!" Ed said with a silly grin.

"He might have been, Ed. He might have been." Double D replied with a sigh, disappointed that even his closet friends couldn't at least attempt to understand his love of learning.

"Bye Double D, see ya at lunch, ahahah" Ed said as he turned and trotted away to his locker further down the hallway and around the corner. Double D took in a slightly heavy breath and began to walk up the stairs next to him and towards the third floor where the science buildings were located. As he came up the final stair, he made a clumsy right face before heading down the corridor. It was there that he came down what was sometimes known as the "Fright Light" hallway (or as Eddy so eloquently called it, the _Bumpin' Hallway, "because,…well…that's where all the kids bump during lunch!"_). The _Fright Light _got it's moniker due to it's persistent flickering fluorescent light that never seemed to want to work. It was a relatively empty hallway, with only three rooms that branched from it: the Calculus-based physics room at the very front (framed with murals to Max Planck and Albert Einstein to either side of the door), an unused conference room that had likely not seen a meeting since the late 80s, and a janitor's closet at the very end. People avoided that hallway at all costs, because something was definitely…_off _about it. Students of physics would slip straight into their class without hesitation, and anyone heading down the hallway adjacent to it (as Double D was doing at this time) knew to silently hold one's breath as the light flickered in a dismal, macabre way. But as Double D's vision panned from the flickering _Fright Light _back to the hall he was shuffling down, he suddenly caught the face of Marie, the blue-haired Kanker who rarely ever came near him, let alone spoke to him. Sure, she had spoken to him a thousand times in her head. Those rehearsed lines seemed so bold and confident in the confines of her imagination, but now, as her eyes moved in crawling slow motion to meet his, all bets were off. She was frozen, a deer in the headlights. Sound ceased, movement halted. She was terrified beyond reason, and nothing could free her from this grasping situation.

Double D put on a slight smirk and gently waved to her as he walked past, never knowing the mental gymnastics show that was occurring in the head of Marie. She blushed, her pale cheeks turning a vibrant pink as she shuffled her feet faster, clutching her textbooks closer and closer to her chest. She sped away as quickly as she could, because making even slight eye contact would likely be too much for this young lady to bear. Time was unfrozen now, things moved as they should be. Double D carried on into his classroom down the other end of the hall, as Marie gave a Lot's-wife glance back over her shoulder to see. As she turned around, she immediately saw her chemistry teacher, Dr. Strickland, coming up the stair case with his typical mug of coffee and his typical binder in his hands, the light casting off his metal-rimmed glasses and scattering across the hallway like a police-light going off in traffic. Suddenly slow students moved more quickly, loud conversations turned quiet, and classrooms along the hallway suddenly started to fill up as locker doors slammed and shoes scuffed. Again, Marie froze.

"Marie, I'm glad I could see you. Do you have a minute to talk?" Dr. Strickland said as he slowly strolled up to her. He was a short little man, so he was able to more or less make direct eye contact with her. He made her incredibly nervous, but his receding hairline did make her chuckle internally in order to relieve the pressure.

"Ooh,…um….yes sir, I do." Marie brushed her hair behind her right ear before looking down to the ground.

"Over hear please, so our talk can be private?" he motioned towards the end of the hallway that contained that dreadful _Fright Light._

"….okay…." Marie strutted over very nervously as he took a large swig from his coffee, his glasses sliding down his nose in the process. He used his fat finger to push them back up afterwards.

"Marie, I was looking over grades in class last night after I graded last Friday's quiz. I don't really know how to lightly say this, but I'm afraid you've slipped into _F _territory Marie. You know that there isn't much time before the final, don't you?"

She was shaking visibly, so afraid and disappointed with herself. General chemistry just wasn't a great class for her. This was her second time taking it, as she had failed the year before and the thought of yet another failure caused her to fight as hard as she could not to just break down and cry, and in front of Dr. Strickland no less. A slight hum filled the silent air as she stood for several seconds before responding with a rather meek _"No…" _

"This isn't going to be easy, Marie, but I have faith in you. There's till six weeks in the school year, and the final exam is worth a quarter of your grade. If you're able to get at least a 90 on the final, you'll be able to pass the class, with some room to spare at that. There's no way I'm gonna let you stand by and fail again!" Dr. Strickland said with a hesitant grin. No one had ever seen the man outright smile before.

"…Dr. Strickland, how in the world am I gonna be able to do that if I can't even pass a simple quiz!" Marie said with a little more lilt to her tone, obviously becoming more agitated with every new thing that this man said.

"Lucky for you, I've come up with an idea that I think might work. Would you be willing to sit with a tutor a few times a week to review the material and handle questions about homework and problem sets? I can ask my best chemistry student to help you, and I'm sure that he would agree without hesitation."

"Who is it?" Marie sheepishly asked, though she quietly assumed who the name would be. Seymore Jones. He was always the top geek in the chemistry club and stuck closer to Dr. Strickland than a hemorrhoid. She would rather not listen to him geek on for an hour a day if she could.

"His name is Eddward Morano, he's currently a top AP chemistry student of mine. He gets the best scores in his class, and he's a damn fine student. Spells his name with two _Ds, _so bizarre. But anyway, he's so nice and friendly, I'm sure he'd love to help! It's worth a shot, right? Do you know him already, by any chance?"

Marie froze for a second. "_Shit, he's talking about Double D! Shit!" _

"…Vaguely, sir. I know his face but that's about it…." She lied, she was secretly obsessed with the boy. But that was none of Strickland's business anyway.

"Well good. I'm about to see him in class now, I'll be sure to let him know that you're interested! Would Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays work for you? Just an hour or so after school on those days, enough to review the material and whatnot as I said. That okay with you?"

She thawed from her freeze just slightly enough to acknowledge him. "Yes sir, that would work fine. Thank you _so _much."

"No worries Marie, see you in class later." Strickland raised his mug to her and swiftly turned around, his Lewis-structure decorated tie following him a second later. He marched down the hall and entered the same class which Double D had entered only moments before. As he left the classroom, suddenly students walked in their normal pace and amplified their conversations once more. Marie stood motionless for several seconds before a familiar voice sounded behind her ears:

"Yo Marie, what was all that about, huh?"

This was the voice of Lee, Marie's older sister whom she placed a great deal of trust in. Her bushy red hair cascaded over her eyes as her high-waisted blue jeans met her polka-dotted t-shirt. Much taller than Marie, Lee looked down and again spoke in her gravely voice:

"Hey I asked you a question, now what was all that business with Strickland, huh? Am I gonna hafta tell Ma?"

"Lee, _Whispering Room,…now!" _Marie said as she took Lee by the hand and led her down the Fright Light hallway to the abandoned conference room.

"That bad, huh?" Lee responded as he trailed behind her sister. Marie looked around slowly before opening the creaky door with the words CONFERENCE ROOM stenciled on the fogged window. Lee followed her in and the door closed behind them. The metal doorlock closed with a sharp thud before total darkness surrounded Marie and Lee. A whirling sound commenced as Marie flicked on the overhead projector which remained in the room, neglected for years. The bright yellow light cast itself against the walls like a structured kaleidoscope. Cobwebs covered boxes of printer paper, and dusty chairs had been stacked upon dusty tables to accommodate room for several broken xerox machines that had been left for dead in this room. Suddenly Marie and Lee's face became illuminated by the projectors great light as they faced one another, ready to speak at last.

"Okay, we're here now. So what's up?" Lee whispered over the whirling sound.

"Lee," Marie said, clinching her eyes shut, "I'm failing chemistry…"

"Again?" Lee said with a heavy sigh, "Ma ain't gonna be happy about this, I can tell ya that. You better prepare what you're gonna tell her when you get home missy!"

"That's not all" Marie responded, "Strickland felt sorry for me, so he assigned me a tutor to help me study for the final. He says that if I get an A on the final, I'll pass the class."

"Well that's a relief, but who's the tutor? Don't tell me it's that Seymore dweeb…"

"No,…thank god,…but no. It's…." She looked down and let out a heavy sigh, then dropped her voice. "It's Double D…."

"Ooh hey hey!" Lee said with a grin as she elbowed her sister across the projector, "this has done fell into your lap now, huh? Why ain't ya more excieted then?"

"Because Lee, what am I even supposed to say to him? _Ooh hey Double D, I'm so dumb that I'm failing chemistry for the second time in a row! Could you ever be so kind and use that big and sexy brain of yours to help me escape failing this time?_"

"That would work on me if I were him…." Lee casually responded, shrugging her shoulders.

"Lee come on, be serious!" Marie was getting visibly frustrated.

"Alright alright. Just go to the tutor session tonight, see how it goes. Put a little charm on him. He won't think you're a dummy if you smell good and look pretty. Double D seems like an understandin' guy, a lot different to the normal pricks around here, know what I mean? Plus he's your man, get him if you want him. This is your first chance to get close to him like this, take advantage of it." Lee placed her hands on her sister's shoulders, attempting her best to reassure her.

"But what if he doesn't like me, Lee? What if he sees how awful I am up close, then my chances are ruined forever!"

"Come off it Marie! You're a cute young gal, how could he not resist the old Kanker Charm?" she smirked a little "Just go, okay? What's the worst that could happen. Take it slow, don't rock the boat, and focus on the learnin' first, then the flirtin', got it? And be sure to stop by my locker after school, I'll hose ya down with the good stuff before you go in to see him. How's a man like Double D gonna resist the charm of Ma's Avon perfume, huh?" 

"So you're the one who took Mom's perfume!" Marie gasped.

"Guilty!" Lee said as she raised her hand. "Now I gotta get to class, and you do too!" The five-minute bell hollowly thudded in the hallway outside that sacred door. "Don't sweat it alright, and see me after school, I'll fix you up right for your _handsome man!" _she nudged her ever more in the chest with her elbow. Marie finally converted her nearly teared-up eyes and frown to a slight smirk, and gave her sister a warm hug of appreciation.

"Thanks Lee, you're the best!"

"Won't be the last time I hear that!" Lee chuckled as she left the embrace after a few pats on the back. "Now go do you some learnin' missy! Don't keep that man too much on your mind!" Lee's words trailed as she quietly opened the Whispering Door and exited out into the hallway, brushing the dust and cobwebs off her thighs and heading off.

"Gonna be hard not to…." Marie whispered to herself as she flicked the whirling overhead projector off and cast the room in darkness once more, bracing to face what was surely to be her longest day.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3 – Lunch break_

Dr. Strickland entered his chemistry classroom now, having conducted his business with young Marie. This room was one that would likely excite any young mind of chemistry. The sleek black desks shined like a new penny due to the thick amount of lacquer upon them. The room was flanked on all sides by lab stations, sporting shiny new chrome faucets and gas valves (recently paid by a scientific grant given to the school). The teacher's desk stood in front, a large clunky Gateway computer sat atop it, adjacent to a corny name plaque that read _Mark Strickland, PhD. _The opposing wall contained the certificate that granted this prestigious award, gifted to him by Ohio State University for no less than six years of diligent research examining the physical structure of organic-metal compounds. No one, not even Double D, was quite sure why this highly qualified chemist was teaching at a dinky high school. Rumors abounded, ranging from the morbid to the silly, and he never took up to say why it was. At one-point Double D did question his decision, and he simply replied with a "_I like a nice quiet, easy going life. And teaching high school chemistry affords me that._" Whatever the case, Double D worshiped the very ground that this man walked on. Chemistry was Double D's favorite subject, and so the knowledge that Strickland contained was definitely something he wanted to gain from. Strickland was probably the only person that Double D could talk to and not feel ashamed or nerdy. His two friends, while fun as ever to be around, never could satisfy his disparate urges to just _nerd out _on occasion. Double D's dad was constantly out of town in his profession, only coming home on those rare occasions that mattered. This father figure was of course passed on to Strickland, though the man felt very awkward in his dealings with Double D, having no family of his own.

As Double D sat at his desk, he perked up quite a bit as his favorite teacher strolled in and swigged his coffee. He slid down the squeaky pull-down screen and flipped on his clunky old overhead projector, illuminating the screen as the one in the _Whispering Room _had illuminated Marie's face just moments before. As Strickland began drawing out the derivation of Gibbs Free Energy on the projector with a squeaky dry-erase marker, Double D closed his eyes momentarily to take in the aura of what he considered to be simply sublime.

A strong odor of acetone and isopropanol concentrated in self in the air, against the backdrop of one particularly noisy fume hood, which ricketed and racketed as if its last moment was fast approaching. Silent sounds of binders opening, the occasional **pop **of three-rings opening was muffled under the sound of pens clicking and chairs scooting under the weight of pupils eager to learn. It was a small class, consisting of only ten people (the minimum required by the school district). Double D removed his textbook gently from his satchel and also opened his notebook before him, clicking his favorite pen open with a certain euphoria, with the chemical fumes certainly assisting in the latter. He furiously copied down the notes Strickland had just finished jotting on the projector face, and _my_ what impressive letters that _G, H, and S _were when they constructed such fabulous equations. Double D carefully drew out his deltas, being sure that no line was out of place in his derivation.

The class went in its normal, fifty-one-minute fashion. Equations were derived, phenomena explained, exceptions covered; enough learning had been done for the day. The bell clanged its great metal hand against its great metal cup to alert the students that the class was indeed over, but not before Strickland could squeeze out whatever few sentences he had left before the class finished packing up the belongings and heading out the door, destined for other subjects in other rooms. Many of the students had physics directly afterwards, so to the _Fright Light _hallway they were bound. This was the case for Double D as well, but not before old Strickland gave him some eye contact and stopped him at his desk.

"Edd, do you have a moment to spare, I'd like to have a word with you." Strickland glanced up over his glasses, standing over his desk like a lawyer ready to argue, his tie swaying back and forth with the breeze generated by that rackety fume hood.

"Why certainly Dr. Strickland, what is it that you require from me?" Double D approached his desk solemnly as Strickland drummed his fat fingers on the desk. He now took his squirt bottle of alcohol in hand and sprayed down the overhead like a dying rose bush, wiping with the other hand vigorously, destroying any evidence of Gibb's miraculous achievements.

"You know that tutoring thing I had asked you about earlier in the week?" he said, stopping briefly from his wiping to glance at Double D over those large glasses of his.

"Why certainly sir, I do indeed!" Double D said as he grinned wide and closed his eyes proudly.

"Well…." Strickland began in his normal monotone way, "I talked to the student this morning and she's agreed to the conditions. I asked her…" (he now tossed his paper towel in the trash bin and forcefully placed his squirt bottle back in its rightful place) "…I asked her if Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays would work and she said yes, and seeing how today is Friday, I was wondering,…that is, if you're not busy or anything…."

"Gladly sir, I would love to, it would be a tremendous honor for me to assist fellow minds in understanding the wonders of chemistry!" Double D's smirk broadened into a very proud grin.

"Good." Strickland's flat voice replied as he scooted into his office chair and turned his desktop on, the whirling sound of the computer fan now competing with the clacking of the fume hood.

"May I be so bold, however, to ask one question sir?" Double D asked, raising up his right hand ever so slightly.

"Sure, go ahead…" Strickland responded, scrolling his computer mouse and typing his password.

"May I know the identity of this student beforehand, or would that be private information only you yourself may know?"

Strickland bapped the ENTER key with some force, logging himself in and turning now to Double D, looking up at the young man with his flat-as-ever expression.

"Her name is Marie Kanker. She's a student in my two o'clock gen chem class. She's short, got blue hair, very shy little girl. She's not a _dummy _or anything. She just needs to apply herself better, needs a little guidance. She failed last year, and I did all I could do in my capacities to help her, but I think she's too scared of me. She needs a fellow student to help her out, someone that won't talk down to her. I figured you were nice enough, and I know you don't have much of a home-life…."

Double D sunk a little at Strickland's response. He was certainly nerved by the mention of Marie's name. Marie didn't really bully or bother Double D anymore, she had turned too shy for those childish games anymore. But he still contained a certain level of boyish fear that grazed his mind anytime her name happened to be mentioned. He was also slightly nerved by Strickland's judgement of his home life. Sure Double D didn't have much of a social life outside of his fellow two Eds, but he had a lot of responsibility from his parents. He didn't feel it was right for Strickland to make such a comment, but he thought it was best to say nothing. He understood the man's dry personality and his respect for his knowledge did not diminish.

"Well sir, you're certainly right about that!" Double D replied with a fake grin and a thumbs up. Nothing to upset the doctor, after all.

"She told me that she knows you in a kind of offhand way, so that might work out really well. A familiar face might aid her studies a little better than a complete stranger. Lord knows that if I'd gotten Seymore to do it, she would have pounded his poor little face in. I'm glad that you're up for it, this girl needs all the help she can get. Well I won't keep you too long Edd, you better get over to physics now. She's gonna meet you in this room directly after school, I told her it'd be about an hour. I'll be gone but I'll leave the door unlocked for you, see you later Edd."

"Farewell, doctor. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning for our usual discussion of this wonderful subject! And I'll be sure to help Marie all I can!" Double D said with a smile as she shuffled his way towards the door, looking back slightly on his way.

"Bye…" Strickland flatly replied as he typed away on his computer, never looking the way of Double D.

And with that, Double D departed down the hall. In his head, memories of Marie played like a montage video. The harassment, the threats, the forced kisses, all of it came back like a bad case of indigestion. But then he remembered the image of that girl, the one that he had seen just before he came to class; the shy, blushing girl who was likely now just as scared of him and he was of her. He quietly pondered her changes as he pushed his feet down the hall, drawing closer to that flickering light that beckoned him to physics. How could he help a girl who had repeatedly hurt him as a child, who essentially stalked him for years? _Was this going to be as difficult as he wondered? Or will she behave and actually learn from him? _His head began to hurt underneath all the confusion and memory games. He went into physics and hoped that it wouldn't bother him after he went through some complex math to distract him.

It was 11:30 when the lunch bell finally rang, and Double D excused himself to his locker to gather his nourishment for the occasion. He had the same thing packed every day: turkey on wheat sandwich, a banana, and some plain yogurt. He didn't mind the blandness, as long as it was scientifically sound and nutritious. His mother was a stickler for health, and she wasn't about to let her little man bite into something that would hurt him later in life.

He scurried past the troves of hungry pilgrims to that established eating quarter, the cafeteria. The cafeteria was a rather large, open room located on the first floor of this four-floor school. The sounds of plastic strays sliding on metal bars filled the air as the amplitude of hundreds of students talking attempted to drown it out. Food was shoveled into faces, and cartons of milk were opened and drank from without care. Double D carefully attempted to squeeze through the gathering masses at the entrance door in order to get to the table that he and his friends called home. Double D was known to sit with the cul-de-sac gang, unless Dr. Strickland needed him for anything. There was Eddy, Ed, Rolf, and Johnny, all assembled daily to discuss the current events and gauge each other on the happenings of the day. Rolf typically carried in some strange concoction assembled by his loving Nana, usually some form of sandwich with tentacles and fish heads poking out of the sides. Jonny, Ed, and Eddy always got their lunch from the cafeteria, which wasn't known to serve the swankiest chow in these parts, but in many cases it was passable. Ed used to just get three tubs of mashed potatoes and gravy anyway, along with two slices of toast. Eventually Double D located his comrades and joined them for a little food.

"Afternoon, genltlemen!" he politely said as he gently placed his lunchbox on the table before him and took a seat. "How are we all today? Anything extraordinary happen, perhaps?"

"Yeah…" said Eddy, taking a swig from his carton of chocolate milk, "Ed here accidently ate a glue stick in art class, _isn't that right Lumpy?"_

"It tasted like peanut butter, Double D!" Ed said with a happy grin before devouring his first piece of toast.

"Very….._interesting _Ed…" Double D said with a half-disgusted face, before placing a napkin in his lap and pulling out his sandwich, cut neatly into two triangles.

"Hey Rolf, tell us the story about how your great Nano conquered the giant sea cucumber again! Please please _pleasssee" _Jonny begged as he tugged at Rolf's short sleeve from across the round table.

Rolf's face sturdied itself as he placed his tentacle-and-fish head sandwich down on the table, his eyes devolving into a thousand-yard stare.

"_Melon headed Jonny-boy, you dare bring up the tragedy of Great Nano on this day that Nana's plums turn pink…" _Rolf said in a very low and deep voice, pursing his lips as his voiced trailed off on the word _pink_.

"Rolf will gladly recount of this tale!" he said as he slammed his fist on the table, startling the neighboring table for a brief moment. "It was a dark and gloomy morning for great Nano, the great son of a shepherd that he was! Yes! He first mounted the giant clam, before removing his great spoon in order…"

The Eds turned to each other as Rolf continued to delight Jonny with his story in the background. Eddy, now sporting a very handsome milk-moustache, turned to Double D.

"So, anything new in the world of science today, Sockhead?"

"Well, now that you mention it, Eddy, we went over this fabulous equation derivation in chemistry today, and it looked so beautiful as I copied…." Eddy stopped him short:

"Yeah yeah, enough with the technical mumbo-jumbo Double D, my brain already hurts from sittin' next to Ed all day!" he said as he pointed his thumb over to Ed, who was happily licking the gravy clean from the bowl.

"I wasn't finished, _Eddy…"_ Double D responded with a stern tone, "Then after class, Dr. Strickland asked me to be a tutor for one of his students who, well to put it nicely, isn't doing so well."

"Yeah, so…?" Eddy replied as he took the final swig from his second milk cartoon, brushing off his wonderful moustache with his sleeve.

"The student just happens to be…" he leaned in closer to Eddy's ear, with Ed leaning in as well, "_Marie Kanker". _

"MARIE KANKER!" Ed and Eddy shouted out as the jumped back in their seats.

"Shh, shh, shh you two! Did you ever think that _she might be able to hear you, for Christ's sake man, she sits just a few tables over there!" _Double D quipped in repose to their reaction.

At this point Rolf and Jonny took notice, and their story-time ended abruptly in order to inquire on the situation at hand.

"What is the meaning of all this yelling and secrecy, head-in-sock Ed boy! Tell Rolf now!" again slamming his fist on the table.

"Calm down Rolf, please!" Double D said, "We were just discussing the fact that I've been assigned as a chemistry tutor to Marie Kanker, you know of her, correct?"

"Aah yes, Rolf knows this woman. Blue hair, cyclopes, angry face. Reminds Rolf of a nightmare he had after eating too much of Nana's clam stew one time."

"Stop it Rolf, you're scaring Plank with all these scary images, you know he's fragile!" Jonny responded as he held Plank in his arms.

"Geez Jonny, if you didn't want Plank to be so fragile, why didn't you go for the pressure-treated lumber inste-" Eddy's attempted wise-crack was stopped short by a thump from Double D on the head.

The bell ending the lunch period rang out and echoed all across the hollow cafeteria, signaling the students to collectively gather their belongs, dispose of their trash, and form their mass exodus back to class. As Eddy slammed his plastic tray against the big trash can and placed it on the adjacent table, he was greeted by Double D hovering directly behind him.

"Jesus Double D, ever heard of a little personal space?" He said as he brushed his friend back a few paces.

"Sorry Eddy, but I'm serious this time! Do you honestly think that I could be in any danger of bodily harm from Marie? I'm scared, Eddy!"

"Relax, will ya?!" Eddy said as he reached for an unopened milk that had been left on the table next to the door, as the two filed out into the hallway. He pinched the corners, pulled, and took a big gulp before burping loudly. "She's just a chick, what's the worst that could happen. You might get lucky; she might really dig ya and start puttin' her hands down your pants buddy!"

"Ooh hush that right now Eddy! I doubt Marie is that kind of girl at all! The kinds of girls that show up in your pubescent dreams might act that way, but I'm sure she is a much more upstanding girl than that."

"Double D, you have _got _to be joking! She's a Kanker, man! They're like nymphos, every one of them. I've heard their mom _really _knows how to get around, know what I'm sayin'? You gotta be careful buddy, she'll have ya hooked and raising kids if you're not careful. And that's the last thing a man needs in his life, some no-good skank Kanker girl telling him what to do." Eddy said as the two walked further down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor.

"Come now Eddy, be serious, do you think it'll be okay?" Double D asked for a second time.

"Yeah yeah, lighten up a little Sockhead! It'll be fine, just teach her a little chemistry and that'll be the end of it. But just in case, you're up to date on your cooties shot, right…?"

"_Cooties, Eddy…?" _Double D responded with a puzzled and annoyed look on his face, looking down at Eddy next to him.

"Yeah, ya know, that's stuff dangerous man. You know, I've heard that AIDS is a form of cooties…." Their conversation trailed off as the two exited the top stair and down the second-floor hallway. Up the now-empty staircase came Ed, flying on his feet in his usual goofy run.

"Wait for me, guys…!" Ed cried out as he rounded the top of the stairs, chasing after his friends.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – _Open my book…_

The half-broken clock in the art room buzzed _1:14 _over and over until the final buzz diminished and the new time, _1:15 _took over it's duty to blink for sixty seconds, having its fame and glory all the same until the next school day came. The art room was a sprawling sight of canvas, drawing paper, paint, and charcoal smears. Students eagerly dosed brushes with mineral spirts and palettes were being scraped as if every particle of paint must be removed for the day to commence. Long tables lay along this fourth-floor loft, as the sunbeams glistened down from the roof sunlight windows, cascading sparkles of color all about. Marie loved this room and held it dearly, probably as dearly as Double D held the chemistry room. In a strange way there was a striking similarity between the two, from the chemical odors to the careful approach of the subject matter. Marie didn't consider herself much of an artist, at least not as much as she would give herself credit for. She worked mainly in charcoal, for she loved the simplicity of blacks and greys. Her subjects ranged from the abstract to the personal, and the current project she was undertaking she titled _Left-Handed Moon. _But she just couldn't focus on anything, and simply laid crouched over her drawing paper, watching the digital clock blink as the seconds faded into minutes; and pretty soon nearly a half hour had gone past, with chemistry class creeping upon her like a raging stalker ready to pounce. End of day was fast approaching, and she didn't have the courage to accept that.

"What's the matter Ms. Marie, the art just not comin' to ya? That'll happen sometimes."

The calm voice was cast down upon her from this tall, lanky many that stood before her: Mr. Wicker. Mr. Wicker was the school's art instructor, and quite the artist he was. He was hugely tall, around six foot eight, and carried a great bald spot surrounded by fuzzy grey-brown hair. His voice was the most soothing thing ever heard, his slightly southern accent caressing itself as paint on a smooth canvas does. Marie felt very safe around him, very comforted. But even that soothing voice could not eliminate the feelings of nervousness and fear that overcame her.

"I don't know, Mr. W…" she said, meekly lifting her little head up, a pouting frown dominating her face. "I'm failing chemistry, and I _really _don't wanna have to take that class again, I just want to give up. I try and study, but it never works. I'm just not good at it…"

Her head collapsed once more into her arms, a nose sniffling underneath, heavily muffled.

"Now now Marie, it can't be all that bad…" Mr. Wicker said as he sat down on the table next to her, patting her on the back, "I wasn't so great at science in school, either. I had a C in chemistry for God's sake! But that's because those things didn't light up my soul. Some people, they get satisfaction from doing experiments and solving equations. But some of us get that satisfaction by putting our souls into our art. We shine on paper, but in a different way. We make our feelings take on shape, dimension, volume. We, uhh, we use the canvas…"

Marie was not very impressed by Mr. Wickers attempted reassurance, but she respected and appreciated his attempt nonetheless.

"I'm not really helping much, am I hun?" he asked meekly.

"Not really Mr. Wicker, but thank you for looking out for me though. I'm just so fed up with some of this stuff. I'll be glad when it's finally over."

"I understand Marie, believe me. But you're a wonderful artist. You bring life to your work, I see it every week! You apply yourself endlessly in my class; you have to find out for yourself how to convert that energy into good chemistry work. I wish I could help you on that, but as I said, definitely not the subject I got the good marks in."

"I know, believe me Mr. W. Luckily Dr. Strickland has hooked me up with a tutor, and he's a really smart and kind guy. I'm really hoping he can help me out on this, but the situation just makes me nervous as hell…"

"Aah, I see this all very clearly now…" Mr. Wicker said as he stood up and waved his finger in the air, a boyish grin creeping across his wrinkling face, "This isn't about chemistry, is it? It's about a boy! You like him, don't you?"

Marie blushed heavily and her only reaction was to stare at the box of pastels just across from her next to the sink. She blanked for a second before snapping out of it and looking back to her teacher. "Maybe….but it's the chemistry too,…it's uhh….it's both…"

And with that the bell clanged, and the class began to move towards the exit for the final class of the school day.

"Well you better get going now Marie, but don't worry about this, okay? Stick to those books, and just approach this how you'd approach one of your art pieces: _improvise! _What's the worst that can happen, huh?" Mr. Wicker said as he rinsed his hands under the sink and wiped them on his apron.

"Bye Mr. Wicker, and thanks a bunch. See ya on Monday!" She collected her books and scurried out.

"Bye now Marie!" Mr. Wicker said as he waved and leaned back into the room, busying himself with cleaning up the various art supplies.

Chemistry class came and went, and suddenly the three o'clock bell rang out and startled Marie like a jumping siren out of nowhere. She had spent the better part of the class daydreaming, dreading, and diverting. Dr. Strickland babbled on about something to do with orbitals, and she didn't really care that much. She thought about Double D, and how hard it would be not to blush the entire tutor session. But now that it was three o'clock, there was no hiding now. Double D was likely on his way, and Marie froze and stared into space as her classmates all shuffled and left around her, until she was the final person seated.

"Well, I'm heading home now, Marie…" Dr. Strickland said as he grabbed his bag and his lunchbox, pulling his keys from his pocket. "Edd should be up shortly, you guys have all the time you need. But I think the janitors lock the doors at five, so try not to stay too late, alright. Bye now!"

"Bye Dr. Strickland, see ya Monday…" Marie responded with a light wave as Strickland darted out of the door and into obscurity, leaving Marie in an empty void with nothing but the racket of the fume hood and the soft smell of acetone to keep her company. She quietly slipped into day dream mode for a brief second until the sound of door-tumblers startled her. The door knob slowly made its way around and the creaking sound escalated until the door fully opened and a visage appeared from behind it.

Double D walked in the room and waved towards Marie with a friendly smile upon his face.

"Good afternoon Marie, I hope you are feeling well for this tutor session!" he said as he walked towards the blackboard and took a seat in the mighty Strickland's office chair, feeling the power sink into his skin from the brown leather.

"….Oh, uh, hiya there…Double D. I'm not….too confident about this stuff, really. It's all wayyy over my head!" Marie responded, attempting to hide her blushing behind her right hand.

"Well, not to worry Marie, just let me know what you're having some issues with that way we'll be sure to go over them. I'd really hate to see you not do well on this final exam, for it is quite important I understand."

"Maybe we could…uhh….go over _orbitals? _Dr. S talked a little about them today and it made me _sooo _confused. Can you help, please?" Marie was blushing harder than ever, which was so difficult to mask on her pale skin. Her head began to sink below her arms now, trapped in a world of nervousness.

"Sure Marie, let us now turn our attention to the world of orbitals…" Double D then grabbed a piece of chalk and began illustrating his thoughts onto the dark slate of the blackboard. "Orbitals are the homes which electrons live in. Think of each orbital subshell quite like a room of the house, and as a room can only fit so many people in it, so too is true that orbitals can only accommodate so many electrons. So you see, when an electron fills the subshell of the orbital…" Double D paused for a second to glance back at Marie, who was sitting quietly, watching his every mood. _"Oh Lord…" _Double D thought, "_I'm nerding out up here, she's likely more confused now than she was to begin with." _

"Marie, I have an idea, and this might allow the material to make more sense than what is happening on this…um…blackboard here. How would you feel if I come sit next to you and show you the information in the textbook, that way you can know how to find this material later on when you'd be studying on your own?"

She froze as she heard his words spell out, however she did have to agree with him. Some side-by-side learning was perhaps the best way to go about this.

"…Sure Double D, I think that's a good idea…." Her voice was so low that it was practically a whisper, but that didn't deter Double D for one second. He quickly erased what he had neatly drawn on the blackboard, all the while repeating his mantra of _messy, messy, messy…._ After he was done, he scurried his little feet over to the lab desk where Marie was sitting, and very gently pulled the chair out and sat down.

"Do you happen to have your textbook with you, Marie?" Double D asked as he placed his hands together before him on the desk.

"Sure…." Marie responded, pulling it out of her black book-bag and gently releasing it onto the table. It was a rather large green tome with the word CHEMISTRY plastered across. Double D referenced the index before quickly shuffling the pages until he reached the chapter which discussed orbitals and hybridization. Marie watched intensely as his fingers skimmed through the pages, the breeze generated by the pages pushed a few of the hairs in her bangs, allowing her hidden eye to become visible for that one brief moment.

"Aha, here we are! Orbitals, just what I like to see on a Friday! How enchanting…" Double D said as he gleamed at the various illustrations presented on the pages. The _s _orbital was beautifully illustrated in the instance of the hydrogen atom, it's rotund shape, responsible for mechanisms of the universe themselves: stars.

"See Marie, here we are. Orbitals, in the quantum sense, are simply places where the energy of electrons exist. Since electrons can be particles _and _waves, they have a certain, well, flow to them. There are four major orbitals when discussing atoms: the _s, p, d, and f! _As each new atom adds a proton to its nucleus and then an electron, new subshells are needed to house all these new electrons! Energy levels are essentially like adding new stories to a house; it gives all these electrons new places to live, and the lower energy levels are covered before the higher. When we want to represent a _quantized _energy level, we denote that with an integer…" Double D pulled out a pad of paper and pen from his satchel and drew a number, _1\. _What this integer tells us is where does the energy of this electron exist. In the case of hydrogen, the energy exists in the first _s _orbital, and that is why we write this configuration as _1s. _Now since hydrogen possesses one proton, how many electrons do you think it has, Marie?"

Marie had momentarily spaced out, though it was in no way due to boredom. She had been totally encapsulated in everything he said. It actually started to kind of make sense now. Strickland had always been so condescending in his approach to chemistry. He constantly talked down to the class and made everyone, especially Marie, feel really stupid for not understanding chemistry like he understood it. But she was captured by Double D's way of explaining these things, and she latched on to his every word. This didn't explain the strange way she felt in her stomach, but her brain was finally understanding something about chemistry.

"One….one electron, right…?" she meekly responded.

"Absolutely Marie, very good!" Double D replied, with a smile. "Hydrogen is going to have one electron in the 1s orbital, which also happens to be its valence shell. He quickly pointed to the large, white periodic table that hung over the drying rack, which was above the washing-sink at the end of the left row of lab stations.

"You see that row on the far left, starting with _H, _that is the _s _block. For every atom, an _s _orbital will be present, and as you go down each group on the table, you add new energy levels along the say. We call the final shell or shells of an atom it's valence shell, because this is ultimately where bonding will take place. For example, oxygen's electron configuration is _1s__2__, 2s__2__, 2p__4__. _For an easy way to figure out this top-numbers…" he said as he pointed with his index finger at the superscripts, Marie's eyes darting to meet it, "…simply count across the row, or more technically, the _period. _So, for oxygen, it's four elements into this row, therefore it's _2p__4__. _Together with the 2s orbital, its valence shell will possess six electrons. Marie, may I ask you a question…?"

His reference to her caught her completely off guard, and even visibly startled her to a certain extent. She had been busy wrapping her mind around everything that Double D was saying.

"Sure, go on…." She half-whispered.

"Is any of the material I'm discussing making any sense whatsoever?" Double D asked, straightening the hat on his head.

"Ohh….yes, Double D! I can't understand Strickland at all, he just kept rambling on about something that wasn't even in our notes! But with you, I can actually _see _this stuff and it makes total sense! I mean, maybe not _total _sense, but a whole lot more than before!" her flat face converted itself into what resembled a slight grin. Inside her smile was a mile wide, but it translated quite poorly on the outside.

"Ooh,…well, thank you Marie! I'm glad I could help you understand this better! I just um..-"

For the first time the two made eye-contact, Marie's piercing green eyes meeting the brown specimens of Double D's. It was awkward as hell, and no one said anything for several seconds. Double D had always been petrified of this girl, and the torment she gave him as a youth was just cause for this feeling. But ever since she gave up the harassment, he formed a pretty neutral opinion of her overall. He only saw her around, occasionally he might wave. But her thoughts comprised of him much of the time. She overanalyzed every greeting, every wave. Every little sign of attention suddenly became a big deal. This little study session alone was the longest Double D had ever been voluntarily around her. It had sent her senses into a complete overdrive, and she wondered If any of her sweat was visible, or her shaking for that matter. Double D appreciated her more meek side, and wondered if that's what she was truly like underneath the rather rough personality.

They eye-contact came to a close as Double D's eyes drifted to the large digital-clock upon the wall, which read out _3:47. _My how time had gone by, Double D thought. Those Pink Floyd-isms had been true though, _Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way…_

"Well Marie, looks like our time for studying today has come to a close. I hope I was able to clear up a few things about orbitals today, though I don't know how successful I was in that endeavor." Double D said, closing the textbook and sliding it towards Marie.

"…Yes, thank you very much Double D! It really helped, and…" she gulped slightly, "…I'm…looking forward to our next session Monday…" the blush returned, red as ever.

"Of course Marie, I was more than happy to help you! I too am looking forward to this next session. We'll be sure to go over covalent bonding and how it applies to orbitals!" Double D then stood up from his chair, gently placed his satchel over his shoulder, and pushed the chair in until the hard plastic bumped the thick lacquer of the table in a gentle _thud. _Marie put her book in her bag and placed it on her back, standing up with him.

The two stood there for some time before one of them had the courage to make a way for the door. It was Double D in this case, and he held the door open as he waited for Marie to follow along. She did, but slowly at first. She honestly wasn't too certain of what was to happen next, nor exactly how she was going to get home. None of this had really been thought through very well on her part.

"Now I just got to figure out how I'm gonna get back to my house, haha…" Marie said with a nervous chuckle, with Double D closing the door behind them as they continued down the hall.

"Well, if you wanted Marie, you could walk with me. The evening is bound to not be too unpleasant weather-wise, and the exercise is sure to be beneficial for the health of us both!" Double D replied with a smile.

Her pupils immediately shrunk to a tenth of their usual size, completely taken aback by his comment. _Did he just actually insist that we walk together? What is going on here, am I dreaming? This can't be happening, this cannot actually be happening. But shit, it is. I gotta answer, and I have to say yes. How could I say no, God I hope he doesn't notice my shaking?_

"…okay, that sounds good…" she sheepishly replied. She looked straight down to the ground, fidgeting with her shoes in the process.

"Splendid, let us leave this place then. _Until Monday, kind bastion of learning…_" Double D gave his respects to this school by laying one hand upon a cinderblock of the wall, before he and Marie travelled down the stairs and out the front door, with the trailer park being around a ten-minute walk from the school, and the cul-de-sac a roughly fifteen-minute affair. As they exited the brick fortress, the wind blew wildly as it often does in the spring time. Marie's hair was tossed to and fro before she pulled a beanie-hat from her bag and donned it, unknowingly matching her tutor who sported his ever-present stocking cap.

She giggled internally at this realization, and the two stepped forward down the sidewalk as the budding trees danced abstractly in the fierce breeze, against the backdrop of the greyish-blue sky.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 –_Moonlight feels right _

_-"Would you like to come with me, to my dead-end street…?"_

During the first part of their walk, Double D and Marie remained relatively silent. Marie was far too shy and nervous to bring up any one topic in particular, and Double D was too awkward to do it either. The cool spring day was tuning even cooler as the sun dipped further and further towards the horizon, the rising moon now shining down on the two against the greyish-blue sky. They came upon a cross-walk, cars zigging and zagging in either direction, immune to the present of the two. Double D took initiative to press the _walk _button. The wait was intense, every second ticking slower and slower. Double D let out a nervous whistle as she looked around at the various budding trees and flowers along the sidewalks of the road. Marie simple looked down at her shoes, twisting her ankles to and fro, occasionally stopping to brush her hair over her ear.

Finally the WALK sign light up in bright yellow, and the cars paused long enough to allow the two to walk across the road and down the opposite road. Initially the two began going in opposite directions; Double D walking up the street, and Marie walking down towards an adjacent road. Double D paused for a brief moment, and finally decided to say something to address the situation.

"Where are you going off to, Marie?" he quietly asked her. She halted and turned abruptly around, facing him again.

"I was just uh…going home is all. Going down this road is a short-cut to the trailer park. Do you…uh…want to come with me?" she sheepishly asked.

"Certainly Marie, I wouldn't mind that at all. It's a pretty night out, and this crisp air is really doing wonders for my lungs. So, are we going down this street, then?" Double D asked, pointing his lowly index finger in the direction of the adjacent street.

"Yeah, so let's go…" Marie said as she turned back around, waiting briefly for Double D to catch up with her. The two began walking side-by-side once more, and this time Double D felt more in a talking mood. The moonlight began to grow brighter by the minute.

"So, did you have a relatively decent day at school today, Marie?" Double D asked, sporting a smile.

"It was okay, not the best but not the worst, ya know?" Marie responded, still looking towards the ground. "I was just so nervous about the tutor session that well…it kinda brought down the day…"

"Why ever would you be nervous, wouldn't you assume that I'd be happy to help a struggling fellow student in any way that I can?" Double D asked, looking down at her.

"It's…nothing really. I just get nervous a lot, I don't –" she paused for a second, unscrambling the words in her head, "…I don't really know why, I just get anxious sometimes. I hate that I struggle so much with chemistry. I try hard all the time, but it never helps. Happens in a lot of subjects, really… I just wish it was easy for me, but it's not…"

Double D wasn't really sure what to say. He understood that Marie was nervous and all, but he couldn't comprehend why. Learning and school were easy for him. Ever since he was a boy, he never struggled with anything academic. He just couldn't see how someone could learn day after day and still struggle. He wanted deeply to empathize with Marie, but breaking that barrier was difficult. She basically tortured him as a child, so why was he know supposed to feel any way but negative towards her? He still carried a great deal of resentment; the kind that just doesn't go away at the benign request of a teacher. But he began to see that she had deteriorated from the harsh bully she one was, now to the fragile creature that walked beside him. He couldn't quite make sense of it all, but he understood more now than he did before.

"I'm extraordinarily sorry, Marie. Believe me, I am. I've always been so gifted in these academic subjects that it's difficult for me to understand what it's like to feel desperate and alone once that textbook opens and everything becomes so difficult and complex. But I vow, on this day, that I will help you achieve your passing grade in chemistry!" Double D now pointed his right index finger directly into the air, his sense of purpose never stronger. "I will consider it a grave failure on _my _part to allow you to not pass, and Lordy I will conduct myself to your studies until you have mastered to art of chemistry!"

His speech had caused a little breathing difficulty, which was quickly restored with a heavy intake breath, which he took sporadically for several seconds. Marie thought for a second, he might be under the spell of an asthma attack; however, he recovered his breathing and she paused for a second, completely awestruck at his speech itself. No one had ever really been so bold for her before, let alone think about her wellbeing. Everyone loved to yell at her for her bad grades, and of course endlessly remind her of how bad they truly were. But never before had someone really pushed themselves to help her, and certainly not with the zeal of Double D's proposal.

The feeling within her stomach trickled as she hadn't felt in quite some time. She was enthralled with this young man that stood next to her, and he didn't know a single thing about it. Every word he spoke struck her like a hammer to an anvil; every phrase strung her heart and made her feel lighter than air. It was as if gold poured from his lips, and glitter shimmered itself around him. In her imagination, in her thoughts, no one was better than him. And now, for the first time, he was giving her the positive attention she so desperately craved. But she had no idea how to handle it, she never thought she'd even get _this _far. Now was a landscape only touched upon in her girlish daydreams, unknown in the realms of reality.

"Thank you so much!" she said, first the first time cracking the glimpse of a smile. "I really appreciate this, Double D! I know we might not have the best past between us, but I'm very thankful that you're here now to help me! I couldn't imagine taking that class again…no offense." She said, this time looking up at him.

"Oh, that's quite alright Marie…" Double D responded, this time looking towards the group of birds that gathered on a nearby tree. He found their song to be quite refreshing and beautiful. "I was, however, slightly hesitant at first about this whole ordeal I will admit. Considering the cruelties that occurred in the past, I was a little scared to say the least. But I'm fortunate to know that it's no longer the case."

"Yeah…I don't know what my deal was back then," Marie said with a nervous chuckle, "…just a mean little girl I guess, I dunno…I have a lot of regrets. I'm sorry…." Marie now tucked her head, not realizing that she was thinking out loud just then. She looked up at Double D with her blushed face, who in return looked back at her with his typical grin. The two, for the second time, shared a very brief eye contact. Marie smiled back at him, the sounds of explosions taking place in her mind. For Double D, there was a calm peacefulness: the treaty had been signed, and a former enemy converted into a friend.

The two walked on in silence for a short while before the visage of the trailer park emerged from behind a row of leafless trees, blanketed in a thin fog. Marie stopped for a second to poke her eye around the trailer directly ahead, the one which she calls home. She spotted her mother's car, a well-used 1994 Toyota Celica. The gold color of the car shimmered as the moon hit it at just all the right angles, revealing nothing more than fool's gold.

"Welp, looks like I'm home now…" Marie said, frowning slightly at the sight of her dilapidated old trailer, rust creeping in from the bottom; with the three wooden steps leading to the front door beginning to feel the effects of weathered rot. "I'll see you on Monday then, Double D. Thanks _so _much for your help. Bye…" Marie waved her right hand at him and walked backwards at first.

"Farwell, Marie! I hope your learning session today was constructive, and I will see you again on Monday for our next lesson!" Double D waived in return before turning around. _Now how am I to navigate this cursed path to get back home. I suppose I could take the normal road down to the alley, and then from the alley to the cul-de-sac. Yes, that's sounds like the appropriate path. _

Marie stepped up the creaking, rotted stairs to the aluminum screen-door, painted a sickly powder white. As she pushed the button on the handle and opened the door, loud squeaking echoed out over the quiet trailer park like a bat screeching. The panel-wood door was then turned open, and the strong scent of Lysol hit as Marie closed the door behind her.

May was stationed on the sofa as Marie walked in, curled up in a ball as she watched one of her programs on television.

"May, what are you watching now? Some kind of delusional soap opera?" Marie quipped as she walked towards her, pausing for a brief second to look at the TV screen, marred by as much static as program.

"Come off it, Marie! I'm just watching something until Dad comes to pick me up! Now _go away_!" May responded, her long blonde hair waving back and forth as she shook her hand in the air.

"Don't use that snobby tone with _me, _May! Don't make me have to-" Marie began to push her sleeve up as a dark figure walked into the lamp-illuminated living room. A voice called out:

"Girls, you quit this fighting now! You know I don't like it one bit! And May, you better go wait outside anyway, your father will be here soon to pick you up."

"But _mommm, _I just started watching my show…!" May whined out as she hugged her knees.

"Ooh clam up May, you're always watching your shows!" Marie taunted at her, hands on her hips.

"Marie you stop that!" the figure yelled out, "Now tell your sister you're sorry before she leaves!"

"I'm sorry May…" Marie said in a half-mocking tone, clasping her hands together in front of her. May's only response was to blow a raspberry in Marie's general direction.

"May, you go and wait for your dad. Marie, I could really use your help cleaning this kitchen."

"_Okay mom…." _Both sisters replied in unison as Marie ambled over to the doorway which shrouded the dark figure; May likewise got up, strapped her pink book-bag around her shoulders, and walked towards the door, but not before giving the dark figure a gentle hug.

"Bye honey…" the figure said, hugging in return "You behave yourself at daddy's, and you use your manners, you hear me!"

"Yes ma'am…I will…" May responded, moving towards the front door.

"See ya May…" Marie called out to her sister.

"Bye Marie…" May said as the panel-wood door closed behind her, the screen door hissing out once more before silence filled the room again. The TV was now overtaken by static and snow, the harsh hissing hurting the ears of those in the room before Marie had the courage to walk over and bang on the top of the TV, causing the image of the local news to reappear in more vivid black-and-white.

The figure, which had remained shrouded in darkness, now stepped forward into the soft lamp-light of the living room. Mother Kanker, the woman herself, if she be so bold. She was a strong-yet-frail looking woman, of average height and possibly a little overweight, but nothing outrageous for her age of 43. Reddish-brown hair cascaded in length down to just above her shoulders, her wrinkled skin possessing its fair-share of freckles. Her face bore the weather-and-wear of decades of torment, neglect, and want. But strong as she ever was, she pushed through in her feminine form. She wore only the most basic of makeup, with her natural features still quite visible. She still had her work-uniform on, a sort-of scrubs outfit that she wore at the retirement home that she worked at.

"Ready to tackle some of those dishes then, Marie?" her mother asked, hands on her hips. Her voice was of the sweetest kinds, but definitely carried with it a sense of nervousness and emotional damage.

"Sure mom, let's go…" Marie responded as she followed her mother into the darkness of the kitchen.

"Why's it so dark in here, mom?" Marie asked, confused and not knowing exactly where to place her feet in front of her. Only the dissipated lamp-light from the living room gave any visibility.

"Damn bulb busted…" her mother replied, "Could you get the step-ladder out of the laundry room so I can change it, please?"

"Of course Mom, be back in a sec…" Marie felt her way around the kitchen furnishings like a blind man in order to find her way to the laundry room, which sat in the back of this particular trailer. She made her way to the door way and flipped the light on, finding the rickety and rusted step-ladder leaning up against the wall opposite the old dented washing machine. She again felt her way back to the kitchen and felt for her mother, who now took the ladder in her hands and popped it open with her foot, causing a loud thud to echo across the kitchen.

"Thanks, Marie…" her mother said as she mounted the step-ladder and the twisting sound of the old bulb was heard, that scratching and screeching noise that it was. "Here Marie…" she said as she handed her daughter the old bulb, before taking the new one and twisting it into the socket. Soon light flickered on and illuminated the whole room in a yellow wash of light, causing both mother and daughter to sigh in relief with a unisoned _Ahhh. _

Marie's mom climbed down off the step ladder (that impossible height of two steps that it was). Marie tossed the old bulb into the trash, as her mother collapsed the rusty old step-ladder and laid it against the refrigerator. Marie was quick to return it to its right position in the laundry room.

"Jesus, everything around here is rusting up…" her mother said as she dusted her hands off, "the ladder, the front door. Eventually we won't be able to get out and have to cut a hole in the roof!" She chuckled quietly to herself as Marie returned from the wash-room. Her mother had already busied herself with washing the dishes when the sounds of tires crunching on gravel filled the air. It was the GMC Sonoma truck which belonged to May's father, coming to pick his daughter up for the weekend. A couple of doors popped and closed, and the crunching sound was heard once more as the truck backed out and pulled away. Marie and her mother paid little attention to this; it was a normal sound of Friday nights.

"So how was your day at school, honey?" her mother asked as she began drying a plate with a towel.

"Oh, it was…alright." Marie said, elbow deep in a sink filled with dirty dishes, viciously scrubbing away with an old tattered sponge.

"Just alright?" Ms. Kanker responded, placing the plate in the cabinet above.

"Well, Dr. Strickland said I'm not doing so well in chemistry…" she said, looking away for that moment.

"Wait, don't tell me, _please don't tell me you're failing again…" _her mother said, placing her right hand upon the countertop behind her, bracing for the worst news possible.

"…No, no not that…" Marie was fibbing, but she thought to herself for a moment, _who doesn't fib every now and then? _She knew that Lee fibbed all the time to their mom, and so this little one wouldn't hurt any. It was self-preservation, because if her mom knew that she was failing that class, _again, _consequences could possibly become capital. Nothing is worse to a mother's ears than that their child is not doing their best.

"So you're not failing then…?" she asked her daughter in a more uplifted tone than the grave one prior.

"Oh, no. Just not doing very well. But Strickland assigned me a tutor so that I can bump up my grade before the year ends." She said, more confident now that her cheap trick actually pulled off.

"You _hope _that it helps you get that grade up, you mean…" Ms. Kanker replied, drying another plate with the same towel as before. "You can't rely on others Marie, I thought I'd taught you girls that long ago. _You _have to be the one that lights that fire under your ass and gets to work!"

"I know mom,…_I know…" _she responded, scrubbing away at a crusted-up plate, likely left by Lee. _Damn you, Lee! _She thought to herself.

"Well, is the tutor anybody you know?" her mom asked.

"Yeah,…he's a boy from the cul-de-sac on the next street over. Really smart, he helped me out a lot today…" Marie said as she placed the now clean plate on the drying rack.

"A _boy…!" _her mother said in a teasing tone, "_Is he cute…?" _

"Mommm!" Marie said, blushing now more than ever. "But yes, he's very…kind, and sweet."

"You like him, don't you…?" she asked, again lifting up her motherly teasing tone.

"I'm not gonna tell you that, mom! Geez it was just one tutor session, not a make-out session…"

"I'm no spring chicken, Marie! I was a girl once too, remember. I remember getting all hot and steamy over those special guys in high school. Lee's father was definitely one…" she said with a nostalgic smile upon her face, letting out a mournful yet gentle sigh.

"Yeah, don't remind me…" Marie said, eager to change the subject to anything else.

"Well, if you ever need a good mother-daughter advice talk, my door is always open…" said her mom as she polished the plate that Marie had just washed and placed it in the cupboard. "I'm going out for a smoke now, you okay finishing these up?"

"Sure mom, you go ahead. I'll take it from here…" Marie responded, busying herself on a Kool-Aid stained glass, likely also Lee's.

"Thank you sweetie…" her mother said as she gave her daughter a very gentle side-hug and kissed the top of her head. Marie's face tinged with a little annoyance, but that's what moms do after all.

Ms. Kanker went out onto the front steps, the creaking door closing slowly behind her. The day had transitioned itself to twilight, and the hazy blue-black sky was now in full illumination of the bright moon, which shined on as she took a pack of menthol Marlboros from her shirt pocket and lit it with her plastic lighter. Smoke drifted into the moonlight as she sat down on the barely-stable wooden steps, rethinking memories long gone in her head, nostalgia playing back like a memorial tape. The rust and dirt of the trailer really looked striking in the dull moonlight, as the woman sat and dragged off her cigarette, enjoying her smoke and memories of days long gone, and people long gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – _Pastime Paradise _

Two bases were loaded as the heavy April sun beat down on that asphalt-laden cul-de-sac. This spring season just couldn't seem to make up its mind; cold the one day, warm the next. A balmy feeling was in the air on this Saturday as the cul-de-sac gang decided to drag out their door-mats and wooden bats for a lovely seven-inning game of baseball. On the one team was Swingin' Eddy McGee, Rattlin' Rolf, and Jumpin' Jonny 2x4. Representing the other team was Dippin' Double D, Easy Ed, and Natural Nazz. Sarah and Jimmy stood in as rambunctious spectators, laid out picnic-style on a blanket with tea and sandwiches. Eddy's team was up at bat, with Easy Ed on the pitcher's mound (represented in this instant by a trash can lid). Rattlin' Rolf was feeling jumpy on third base, with Jumpin' Jonny feeling pretty itchy himself on second. Plank was short-stop for both teams, naturally. None of the adults in the neighborhood really seemed to question why their teenage kids were out playing streetball but blowing off a little steam was good for them. The catcher of this game was a trashcan (in fact, the very one that the pitcher's mound lid originated from) and the referee was of course, also Plank.

"Come on you sissies and show us a real ball game!" Sarah screamed out from her cozy retreat, hands cupped over her mouth.

"Yeah, make 'em weep!" Jimmy shouted in return, his iconic head-gear now no longer present, which was quite an odd thing for many of them to see on a daily basis.

"Hey, no hecklin' from the stands…!" Swingin' Eddy shouted out as he stepped up to the home plate, represented by Double D's family welcome mat. It was the bottom of the seventh, and Eddy's team was tied with Double D's. Rattlin' Rolf's long legs bent to and fro as he jabbered around on the third base, Jonny's welcome mat from home. Ed quickly shot a glance back to him, Rolf steadying his pace. Ed's backwards facing baseball cap was about two sizes too small, just barely covering the prickles of his buzz cut. He whirled his arms a few times in order to confuse his poor friend at bat.

"Just hurry the hell up and pitch that pea Lumpy!" Swingin' Eddy called out as he got into his proper batting position, wagging the wooden bat back and forth.

Easy Ed focused his complete attention, sweat beading on his powerful unibrow as the sun continued to produce the spring swelter. His eyes lasered in, squinting ever so carefully. He wound up his arm and cocked his leg back in the air like a flamingo…

"Skip to the loo my darling!" he cried out.

Ed launched his right-hand forward as the ball exited, flying at enormous speed towards Eddy. Everyone watched as Swingin' Eddy, as if in slow motion, lived up to his given name and swung his bat so hard in the forward direction that it caused him to spin wildly. The ball however, blazed right past him and directly into the great metal trashcan, creating a great, echoing **THUD. **

"That's strike one, Eddy…" Nazz said in her typical gentle voice, manning second base and eagerly monitoring both Jumpin' Jonny and Rattlin' Rolf.

"Yeah yeah big deal, Ed threw a bad one…" Swingin' Eddy said as he tossed the ball back to Ed, who decided it was fitting to catch it with his foot.

"Not bad there, Lumpy. Not bad at all…" Eddy said as he did a few practice swings over the home plate.

"And merry Christmas to you too, Eddy!" Ed called out as he tossed the ball up and down briefly. In the flash of an eye, however, a tall figure went moving in the background.

"Ha ha, ha ha! Rolf has been taken with the speed of great Nano's stewed beets! Watch as Rolf steals base with the same force as the first four great Turnip wars of the old country…!"

"Ed, Ed I'm open! I'm open!" cried Dipin' Double D as he stood by third base, ready to chase Rolf down.

"Comin' at ya, Double D!" Ed said as he wound his pitch and threw the ball directly through the shrubs next to Eddy's house, bouncing off the wooden fence, and smacking Jimmy right in the back of the head.

"Oww Sarah, it burns, it burns!" Jimmy cried out with his face buried in the grass.

"Ed, look what you did now! I'm telling mom!"

"Sarah, please! If mom finds out she'll-"

Ed was cut off short by victorious cries by Rolf:

"Rolf has vanquished the head-in-sock Ed boy team in this game of ball-meets-stick! Now you must prepare for the consuming of Rolf's fish stew, your punishment is just!" Rolf cried out.

"See that Double D!" Eddy cried out, cupping his hands around his mouth, "told you we'd win! Now you owe me that three dollars!"

"Ed, you could have thrown the ball to Plank, he was right there!" Jonny said as he pointed to Plank, who had been propped up by a stick. But then a gust blew by and knocked Plank straight to the ground, generating a rough cracking sound as the wood hit the pavement.

"Man down, man down!" Jonny cried out as he ran to help his best friend.

"_Here you are, Eddy…" _Double D said in an annoyed tone as he pulled out his wallet and handed Eddy the three dollar bills that had been bet on the game before hand.

"Mmm, look at this sweet moolah!" Eddy said as he caressed his three dollars, gently tucking them in his pocket for safe keeping.

It was at this point that everyone began packing up and heading home. Place mats were restored to their rightful positions in front of doors, and trashcans were tipped back up. Both Jimmy and Plank were properly tended to and bandaged, and Sarah carefully walked Jimmy back to his home. Eddy took his bat and ball and threw them over on the side of his house, causing some feral cat to jump and hiss loudly. Ed and Double D dusted themselves off before Eddy walked over towards them.

"So boys, you fancy a trip to the junkyard? Ole' Eddy here needs to find some good scrap metal to sell. With a couple more dollars I can finally afford that hubcap I've had my eye on." Eddy said as he placed his arms around his two friends.

"You mean the car that you don't even have yet, Eddy..?" Ed asked with his silly grin on his face.

"Shut up Ed…" Eddy replied, "How about we talk about that _brain _that you don't even own yet? Huh Ed, wanna talk about that?"

"Ed does have a point, Eddy…" Double D retorted "It is awfully strange to be buying assembly and decorative parts for an automobile that does not exist. Not to mention that any hubcap worthy of purchase would cost far more than the measly pocket change that you-"

"Shut up Double D… so are you guys comin' or not?" Eddy asked.

"Ed is here and ready for duty!" Ed cried out, saluting Eddy.

"I could possibly find a few intricate treasures in the old scrapyard; and finding recyclables to place in the proper locations is indeed a hobby of mine!" Double D replied.

"Sweet!" Eddy said, smacking his hands together. "Let's roll boys…"

A buzz rang out and vibrated against the trailer walls as Marie was busy sweeping the yellow linoleum floor of the kitchen. The washing machine, as ancient and unreliable as it was, was signaling to her that the load was done and ready for her immediate attention. Over years of wear and tear, the washing machine had malfunctioned to where the buzzing wouldn't stop until it was opened, leading to a lot of annoyance on the part of the Kanker girls.

"_Better get that laundry then…_" Marie thought to herself as she placed the broom to the side and hurried back to the laundry room.

Lee, meanwhile, sat on the living room couch, her bare feet propped up on the coffee table as that static-consumed television set displayed a terribly corrupted and black-and-white image of the QVC network. Lee eagerly watched as a luxury purse was advertised with vigor, _and it was only five easy payments of $35.99! _She fantasized and dreamed, but it never did any good. Money simply slipped through the fingers of the Kanker family, and every year it continued to get worse and worse. Every day brought new surprises as something would break, stop working, or explode. It was almost a fun game to guess what would break down next. Lee had it pinned that any day the TV would just explode and take out half the trailer; that is, if the bottom of the trailer didn't rust out first. Ms. Kanker's trusty automobile was on borrowed time, with a new part needing work basically every week. Money simply evaporated from this family, it was just how life operated.

Lee had gotten a job some months ago at the candy shop just up the street from the cul-de-sac, where she earned a whopping five bucks an hour, every day after school and every-other Saturday. Her job mostly consisted of cleaning and stock-rotation, as it was really only little kids that stopped in in the twinkling afternoon hours. Summers on the other hand was a different story; during the summer the shop also sold ice cream of all types, and usually stayed packed with sticky-fingered customers.

Marie came walking through with her laundry basket in hand, pausing briefly at the junction where the kitchen met the living room. Lee was shaking up her toe-nail polish just as Marie stepped into the living room.

"Hey Lee, " Marie said, setting the basket down, its contents far too heavy for holding any significant amount of time, "you wanna come hang this laundry up with me? I could sure use the help…"

"Sure sis, I got nuttin' else better to do. The TV is on the fritz and I'm pretty sure it'll be blowin' up soon and killin' us all…" she chuckled to her self as she stood up from the sofa and walked over to the front door, holding it open long enough for her basket-toting sister to come through. Marie threw the basket down on the ground as the two began to hand the clothes together.

"So, how'd that study session with your little _love bug _go yesterday, huh?" Lee asked as she clipped two wooden clothes-pins on a shirt and pinched it to the weathered clothes-line.

"Oh shush Lee, he's not my _love bug…_" Marie replied in a mocking tone, "…he's just my tutor at the moment, and if you must know, he was very helpful for me in my studies!"

"Yeah but I bet you was staring at him the whole time, weren't ya?" she asked, chuckling towards the end.

"Well…he was kinda hard to miss. He just explains that stuff so well, it's like he just talked and I understood it. It really shocked me Lee, but _he's good! Like, really good!_". Marie said as she folded a towel over the line.

"Yeah well just be sure he keeps his hands to himself, or he'll have me to talk to!" Lee replied, pointing her thumb into her chest.

"Oh calm down Lee, you know he's not like that…" Marie said, now looking directly at her sister.

"Yeah, I know…" Lee responded, hanging some panties on the line, "…he's harmless. But you never know that shit for certain, so don't you forget that!" she pointed her finger directly at Marie.

"You just have massive trust issues, you don't trust anybody Lee!"

"Damn right, because you can't. Have you seen all the men that have lied to mom, mistreated her, broke her poor heart! That could be _us _too Marie! Men are out there, and they will hurt you if you let 'em. I don't plan on lettin' 'em hurt me, I got too much on my mind as it is…"

She wasn't wrong, either. Lee had taken on a great deal of responsibility as she matured. She was only a few months shy of her eighteenth birthday, though her entrance to adulthood occurred much earlier. Lee had an incredibly special bond with her mother that neither Marie or May truly had. Lee, the first born, was attached to her mother at the hip, and they talked more like sisters sometimes than mother and daughter. May was really close with her dad, the one she visited every weekend, leaving her sisters behind to do all the housework in her absence. Teenage-Marie resented May in a certain way, because she wanted a dad too! Marie was close to her mom as well, but not in the same way as Lee. Lee hated that their mom was forced to work so much to make up the difference, so she did what ever she could to pick up around the house, especially helping with bill money or gas money for the car.

"One day you'll take all that dumb shit back, Lee. You'll meet that right guy one day, and he'll make you forget all about that _Miss Independent _talk you do all the time…" Marie replied, the laundry basket getting close to half empty.

"So do you think old Double D might be "The One" then, for you?" Lee asked, hanging a pair of pants.

"I don't know Lee, I barely know him. I just know about him, but we're not close enough yet to make that kind of call. But yes, I do like him, _a lot. _But I don't know if he feels the same way, he's so…nice. He just doesn't show that kind of side to me, or probably anyone. And besides, I'd feel too embarrassed to ever bring something like that up…"

"Just keep cracking at that shell, Marie. Eventually you'll get to who he is on the inside. Men are complicated anyway, and he is a man after all. You've spent all these years chasin' after him, to only now really start gettin' to know him. Just don't get too wrapped up, because it'll hurt too bad if, you know-"

"I know Lee, trust me. I'm just hoping something will come from this, but I'm not sure. I guess I'll just have to wait and see…" Marie was now putting a few of her bras on the line.

"That's the best way to go, Marie. See what he does, how he acts. If you push this thing, it'll just backfire and you'll scare the shit outta that boy. You gotta play it with those subtleties, ya know? Men get itchy if you just fire all your guns at 'em. But just remember what I told ya, your studyin' comes first Marie, and never forget that. All the men in this world can try to break you down, but they can never take your brains."

"What brains Lee, obviously I haven't got much of those, considering the chemistry situation I'm in." Marie responded, her face turning into a stressed frown.

"Oh you got brains little sis, you just don't realize it. You slip up sometimes, but you're for sure the smartest of the three of us. You just gotta figure out how to get that brain of yours to work for ya, and it looks like Double D is workin' for you in that area…" Lee said, now smiling a warm smile at her sister.

"Thanks Lee, that really means a lot…" Marie said, holding a hand over her heart and feeling the gentle pull of tears welling up in her eye.

"Aw don't get mushy on me, sis!" Lee playfully teased. "So, did you tell Ma about the chemistry thing…?"

"Yeah, I told her last night when I got home." Marie answered.

"How'd she react?" Lee asked, turning towards Marie.

"Well, I did fib a little on _exactly _what happened…" Marie replied.

"You're picking up real good there, young sis. Sometimes you just hafta play this shit by ear, and wait for it to pan out. But just realize that Ma is always three steps ahead of you. Don't be surprised if you come home one day and she's waitin' for an explanation about those grades."

"I guess I'll run that risk…" Marie said, pinning up the final garment in the basket and letting out a big sigh, the bright sun burning much hotter than it'd suggest, considering the chilly temperatures that occurred the day before. Lee also let out a big sigh and dusted off her deep-blue jeans with her hands. A stiff breeze blew through the park, causing the freshly-hung clothes to sway back and forth, the screen door clattering in the foreground.

"How's about we head inside and watch a little QVC, huh Marie?" Lee asked, picking up the now very light laundry basket. "Have a little sister-sister bonding, and nothing says that better than QVC…"

Marie's face sported a lovely new smile at the sounds of the suggestion: "Sure Lee, that sounds like a plan. Hopefully that damn TV will hold up till Mom gets home…"

"I wouldn't put any money on it…" Lee said, as the two sisters climbed into the trailer, the screen door hissing closed behind them. They escaped the hot sunlight and left it for the clothes instead, swaying ever so in that stiff breeze that engulfed the entire cul-de-sac in a mid-afternoon gust.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – _The Dangling Conversation_

The alarm rang out its great bell adjacent to Double D's bed just as it had three days before; the meeting between the boy, the sun, and the alarm was once again occurring at its normal time. This time however, the sun was not begging for comfort. Warm spring air whipped around Double D's cracked bedroom window, causing the colder weather of the previous week to seem like a distant memory.

Double D awoke and was quite pleased with the warmer weather, stretching his long arms out and taking in a rather large yawn in the process. His morning rituals commenced: brushing of the teeth, dressing in the typical outfit, and he was off to the kitchen. Of course he noticed the all-too usual yellow post-it note attached to the sleek steel of the refrigerator, and his internal narration read it off:

_Dear Eddward, _

_Thank you for mopping the floor Friday! I''ll be home late tonight, but I've left plenty of groceries for you in the house. Your father will be coming home Friday night, so make sure the house is clean for him. He's looking forward to seeing you! _

_Love, Momm_

"Father's coming home, how delightful!" Double D said to himself as he opened the refrigerator and retrieved a lovely red apple, which he took a crunchy bite from as he walked through the living room and out the door. He then headed over to Eddy's house, enjoying the gorgeous spring morning.

Eddy was actually already awake by the time Double D made it to his glass door. He was dancing around his room, pretending his comb was a microphone as he belted out a tasteful rendition of _What's New, Pussycat? _by his favorite singer, Tom Jones. The distinctly deep Welsh voice of Tom was overrided with the various squeaks and squeals of Eddy's singing. He leaped atop his bed and commenced to doing this dance that Double D was positive had to be illegal as part of the Geneva Convention.

Double D smirked as he peeped through the door, before laying a sly knock on the glass. Eddy nearly jumped out of his skin at the hearing of the knock, when he flew up and nearly crashed through the ceiling. His three hairs perked up and he whipped around, seeing his friend giggling outside the glass. He ran over, tripping in the process, to slide the door open and let him in.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Double D!" Eddy shouted, "Can't a man just listen to Tom in peace!"

"Apologies Eddy, but I couldn't bear to witness your…_gyrations…_for much longer. To be quite honest, I would rather look into Ed's window and see him drooling onto his own arm."

"You just don't know sweet moves when you see 'em, Sockhead…" Eddy replied, gathering his book-bag and stopping quickly to look in the mirror. He used his microphone-comb to slick his poor little hairs back and smirked at himself. "Eddy, you are one cool customer…" he said aloud, embarrassingly, before following Double D out his door, sliding it closed behind him.

"I guess we ought to go get Lumpy now, huh?" Eddy said, walking beside Double D.

"Yes, it would be quite convenient, Eddy." Double D responded.

The two arrived and went through their typical schedule with Ed: in through the window; down into the basement; wake Ed up; he gets dressed; they leave.

The bus stop felt a quite bit better on this Monday, for the weather was far more cooperative and a stiff breeze filtered the trees and carried buzzing maple seeds all over, a few clattering around the feet of Eddy.

"Ahhhhh-_chooo!" _Ed sneezed out, blowing snot in various directions before wiping his nose with his sleeve.

"Bless you Ed, it sounds like you have a terrible case of allergies plaguing you!" Double D cried out, offering his friend a mini-tissue from his satchel-bag.

"No thanks, Double D!" Ed called out, waving his hand in the air, "Got all the tissue I need!" He held up his sleeve with snot now dripping onto the sidewalk.

"I think I might need to bathe now…" Double D responded in a low voice.

"I think I might need to _barf!" _Eddy said as a made a gagging face and turned away. "Ed you are just gross as hell, you know that!?"

"Not as gross as the slime monster from the eighth dimension, Eddy!" Ed replied, wagging his finger in Eddy's short face.

"Yeah, I'm sure…" Eddy said, shoving his hands down into his pockets.

The bus came and took the three Eds and Jonny to that bastion of learning that Double D had said goodbye to just two days prior. The three Eds went through with their normal morning routines once they entered the building; Double D paid a visit to his pristine locker, Eddy got his chocolate milk, Ed walked around hopelessly. As Double D was headed for his chemistry class, he passed a familiar face as he stepped eagerly down the hall. He spotted the signature blue hair of Marie Kanker, slowly treading down that third-floor hall with a few books in hand.

"Greetings, Marie! I certainly hope your weekend was exciting and that you're ready to get back to the educational learning today!" Double D said, waving his hand in a very happy fashion. Marie slowed down, nervous and shocked at his gregarious display. _Did he really just speak to me first? Is he actually trying to make conversation? This really can't be happening; how does he not hate me? _

"Oh hey there Double D. The weekend wasn't too bad, a little boring but it was alright. How about yours?" Marie finally responded as she stood next to a set of crudely beaten lockers.

"I'm sorry to hear about the boredom that plagued your weekend, Marie! That must have been quite unpleasant. My weekend did consist of a few neighborhood antics, but I of course was stuck into my books for the most part."

"Ooh, me too!" Marie replied, sporting a slight grin on her face, "It's probably pretty shocking, but I studied a lot over the weekend, especially the stuff that we went over on Friday. It's really starting to make sense now! Thank you _so _much Double D, I'm really….excited about our next study session today!" Her tone had become incredibly nervous, and her hands were starting to shake slightly. She really hoped that he wouldn't notice.

"That is truly wonderful Marie!" said Double D, smiling large, "I am more than happy to assist you, and I'm very glad that you're taking such an excited approach to this process! I too am looking forward to more study sessions, I find them quite enjoyable as well!"

"Cool, well I'll see ya later then Double D, I gotta get to my locker to drop a few things off…" Marie said, looking to the ground as her statement drifted off.

"Farewell Marie, I shall see you at the end of the day then!" Double D said, giving a hearty wave goodbye before shuffling up the hallway, into his chemistry class for the day. Marie slowly walked down the hallway, feeling almost as if everything had slowed down to a halting pace. The world seemed dizzying and fuzzy, and it confused her to no end.

Double D walked into the room, seeing his favorite teacher in the process. No one else had arrived yet, and Dr. Strickland was incredibly early today. He sat at his fake-wood desk, tapping and bapping at his keyboard and occasionally reaching up to sip from his steaming coffee mug, a simple white mug bearing the Lewis structure for _caffeine. _Double D shuffled over to take his normal seat towards the front of the room, with the fume hood clattering away in the background.

_Dr. Strickland must have been cleaning in here this morning…_ Double D thought to himself as the heavy odor of ammonia drifted through the air, unaided by the workings of the fume hood. Dr. Strickland always kept a spray-bottle of good old NH3 solution in his room for cleaning lab stations. Strickland was a meticulously clean and organized individual, giving Double D all the more reason to like him.

"Good morning Edd, how was your weekend?" Dr. Strickland awkwardly asked as he peered over his large glasses towards Double D.

"Salutations on this beautiful morning, Dr. Strickland! My weekend was quite well, thank you, but now I am eager to begin the learning week anew!" Double D responded with a rather large smile on his face.

"I don't know if I'd call it beautiful…" Strickland said with a frown. "I've been in here cleaning glassware and stations since six this morning. It's starting to get warm outside and the damn air conditioning still isn't working in this room. Plus that fume hood keeps rattling around, I'm going to have to get the principal to call the people to come out and service it. God this stuff gets so old…"

Double D's smile slowly collapsed itself, like a balloon suddenly escaped of air. Strickland had these bad moods sometimes, but hopefully he'd get over it. He watched as the man sipped from his coffee and swirled his mouse around. Awkward silence settled in the room for several seconds longer.

"So…what subjects will we be dealing with today then, doctor?" Double D asked.

"We're,…uhh…." Strickland took this opportunity to stand up and open his three-ringed binder, placing it carefully on the podium next to his desk. "…we're looking at how to predict spontaneity based on the delta G prime values for particular reactions, namely phase changes like vaporization or boiling points."

"Fascinating, truly fascinating!" Double D replied as he removed his books and notebook, eager as ever to start this class.

Minutes passed, and the class began. Strickland lectured in his somewhat boring and disconnected manner, Double D diligently copied down his notes, all was well. These minutes slowly ticked away as they became fifty-one, and the class was over. Minutes converted into hours as one class melded into another. Lunch came, and the Ed boys, Rolf, and Jonny ate in their normal fashion, discussing the events of the day and complaining about things to come. Before either Double D or Marie realized it, the three o'clock bell rang out its mournful cry ending classes for the day. Time separated them, yet it also brought them together.

Marie sat in the chemistry room, all alone as Strickland had departed himself as soon as that dismissal bell had called forth all that could hear it. She listened once more to the overcast noise of the fume hood, mingling now with the dripping of a leaky faucet in the back. If one more appliance was to fail or break, it would soon become a three-piece jazz band of neglected noises.

She sat and began her daydreaming cycle as she waited for Double D to come through that great wooden door at the front-right side of the classroom. She happily envisioned a date between the two: ice cream and a lovely walk along the river that trailed along the boundaries of the cul-de-sac region of Peach Creek. She imagined his hand reaching out, brushing hers, grasping for the warm comfort of romantic touch, but then-

A tumbling door-lock disturbed the illusion of silence as the great door opened and Double D himself walked in, holding his textbook like a newborn child. Marie shook out of her fantasy, smiled and waved.

"Hey Double D, was just wondering where you were!" she said, as he ambled over to take the seat next to her at that slick-black lab table.

"Sincere apologies for my tardiness today!" Double D said, taking his seat and laying his book upon the desk. "I was held up by an enormous, and dare I say ravenous, crowd that had gathered around to see a fight in the hallway. I ran into Eddy, and he took his sweet time to tell me all the details, particularly the monetary gain he could benefit from if he had placed bets on the winner. Anyhow, I am here now, and I apologize again!"

"Oh, it's fine Double D, totally fine. It's only been four minutes, anyway…" Marie said, smiling at him and brushing her hair over her ear.

"Well thank you for patiently waiting Marie!" he said, drumming his fingers on the book face. "So what are we to go over today?"

"Well Dr. Strickland was talking about bonding and hybrid bonds today, so maybe we could go over that…? If that's okay with you, that is…" she said, laying her hand out on the table.

"Certainly Marie, we can review anything you wish. It is _your _study time, afterall…" he replied.

"Thanks Double D…" she said with a smile, "I understood what he was getting at today, but he kinda lost me when he started talking about the different kinds of bonds. Could we go over that?"

"Why of course Marie, let us look at what the book has to show us in the way of illustrations…" Double D responded as he opened the book in the index, scrolling his finger down the various columns of words until he found the treasure he was seeking.

"A-hah!" he cried out, his other finger jutting itself into the air, "here we are. _Bonding principles, page one-hundred and seventeen!_" He skimmed through the pages until he reached the one in question, the illustrations beautifully depicting a sigma bond in bright orange.

"See Marie, this is a sigma bond! This _beautiful _illustration shows a methane molecule with four sigma bonds. The central carbon shares its four valence electrons with the four valence electrons of the hydrogen atoms in order to fill its shells. Does that make sense, Marie?"

"….oh yes, very much so. So it's basically just linking up with the hydrogens? I can get that. So all of these are sigma bonds?" Marie asked, finally beginning to grasp some of these concepts under his leadership.

"Oh yes, these lovely bonds are all sigmas, and we write that as the letter for sigma, which looks like an 'o' with a line across the top, like this…" Double D replied as he drew the letter for sigma (σ) on his pad of paper.

"Oh it's looks so cute!" Marie chuckled as she practiced drawing one for herself.

"I had never thought of it in such terms, Marie, but I suppose one could call sigma…well…_cute_."

The study session went on in this way for the next fifty minutes. Double D showed Marie the wonders of hybridization, molecular geometry, and how it all ties together. A lot of material was covered in this session, and Marie was answering a great many of the practice problems correctly. Her confidence was beginning to build itself up, but alas time was up as the digital clock above the chalkboard read _4:05_.

"Well Marie, it seems our time has come to a close today. Have we covered enough to assist you even slightly?" Double D said, drumming his fingers together nervously.

"Yeah, time has really flown today!" she replied, putting her notes away and zipping her bag closed, "time to go then I guess…"

"Yes, quite true…" he said, strapping his own bag closed and placing it over his shoulder.

"Would you…" Marie started, biting her cheek slightly, her mind running around in whizzing circles, "Would you maybe like to walk with me again? It's such a pretty day, and that walk home can get kinda boring…"

"Certainly Marie, it is a magnificent day out and the detour certainly would be quite pleasant." He replied, making his way towards the door, flicking the light. The room flooded with darkness, and the whirling sound of the fume hood echoed on the empty cinder-block walls.

"After you…" she said with a smile, pointing towards the door.

Double D exited into the hallway, followed by Marie, whom he had held the door open for. The door closed behind them with a solid thud, and the two walked down the hall, down the two flights of stairs, and out the building altogether. The lengthy journey had left Double D a little winded, for his breathing escalated as the two exited out the front glass doors.

"You okay, Double D?" she asked as she heard his panting.

"Oh yes yes, quite alright…" he said, reaching into his bag. "My lungs seemed to have been overworked, and this cursed asthma doesn't help matters either…" He pulled out his orange inhaler and took several long puffs from it, his cheeks heavily inflating with every new press of the button.

"I never knew you had asthma!" she shockingly replied, her hand touching her chest. "You sure you're gonna be okay with the walking?"

"Oh yes, I'll be quite fine Marie, but thank you very much for concerning yourself with my retched health conditions…" Double D said, placing his inhaler back in its rightful pouch.

"Okay, if you say so…" Marie said as the two started walking forward down the road. "But if you start feeling bad, please let me know and we can stop for a break…"

"Thank you Marie, I shall keep that in mind!" he said with a smile. She smiled back at him, and the two crossed the road and hurried down the street.

It was indeed a very beautiful spring afternoon. The birds happily chirped and sang as they danced around the tree branches, dodging the fresh green buds and blooms of flowers at their peak. Many of the yards of this street were decorated with pear and cherry trees, the blossoms of which spread their colorful petals out in the bright sunshine. Occasionally nature's gorgeous spectacle was spoiled by the whiz of a car going by or a lawn-mower cranking, somewhere in the distance. Eventually too human speech broke the silence, and Marie was the one to do so.

"So, how was your day then, Double D…?" she asked, briefly looking up at him.

"It was fairly normal. All my classes went about in their typical fashion, and Eddy told a really funny joke at lunch, which caused milk to come flying out of Jonny's nose at great speed!" Double D had to stop for his laughter had gotten the better of him, and he caught a fit of the giggles. Marie couldn't help but laugh with him at a joke she was completely ignorant to.

"Ahh, anywho…" Double D finally said, coming back to his senses, "How was your day then, Marie?"

"Oh, it was okay. Classes were a little boring today, but that's pretty typical. Lee and May got into an argument today and May ended up throwing a hot dog at her!"

"Oh my, that sounds awfully violent!" Double D said, a look of slight horror on his face.

"They get a little out of hand sometimes, especially Lee. But that's how sisters are; love each other one minute, hate each other the next. You don't have any brothers or sisters, do you Double D?"

"I have no siblings, no." He replied, looking to the ground. "It's amazing for me to ponder the fact that my parents had enough free time to marry one another and conceive me. They're never in the same place for longer than a few minutes…"

"They're out of town a lot, I've noticed there's almost never any cars or anything at your house. What do they do then?" she asked, a flight of birds darting past and whistling their carefree song.

"Well, my father is the one out of town the most. He's a rather senior physicist in the Air Force, working with the space affairs department. He assists in designing and conceptualizing ideas that the military can use for travel in outer space. He works quite a bit for NASA, and for those reasons he's almost never around. He has his own personal apartment on the base, and he only comes home one weekend a month…"

"How come he doesn't have a house on base, and you guys live there? Why live here in Peach Creek when you work so far away? That doesn't make a lot of sense, Double D…" Marie responded, a look of confusion now apparent.

"He wanted to me to live a normal life around normal children, devoid of any of the military entanglement and base lifestyle. I have to say that I respect him for this decision, for as a pacifist I would never acclimate well to military base life, even if my father's occupation is mostly an educational one." Double D answered, looking towards her now.

"Ooh, that makes sense…" she replied, looking to the ground again. "So how long has he been in the military?"

"It'll be nearly eighteen years I believe… he went in right as he completed his doctoral work. I was born just after he completed officer training, and when he was permanently stationed at the base near this town, he moved my mother and myself in the cul-de-sac. I was roughly three at the time, so I don't remember very much of this, I apologize. I've also only been told small pieces of this history from my mother."

"Why on earth would he join the military if he completed his doctorate? Wouldn't he rather become a professor or work for a normal company?" she asked.

"Well, he was told that his student debt would be taken care of by joining the military. In addition, he really fancied the idea of retiring very young, so he could spend time either teaching or spending time with my mother. I suppose he figured it wouldn't hurt. Though I don't know the full answer myself, I've never really asked him before." He answered.

"Well what does your mother do?" she asked.

"She's a registered nurse at the General Hospital." He answered, his breath becoming a little too heavy for comfort. He pulled out his trusty inhaler and puffed before continuing. "She works twelve hour shifts quite frequently, and she goes out of town a lot as well for conferences and the like."

"Ooh that's cool! My mom is kinda like a nurse. She works at the Golden Years Retirement Home in town. She sits with the old people, takes care of them, etc. She has to work really long hours too, and the pay is lousy. But she likes it, which suits her I guess." Marie said, the two edging closer and closer to the trailer park.

"Interesting, I was always slightly curious as to what your mother did for a living, and now I know!" Double D said, "But what does your father do exactly."

Marie froze, her eyes wide and lip trembling. Her father was forbidden from conversation in her house, an illegal name that was spoken only in extraordinary circumstances. She'd only ever heard her mother mention him two times, and neither one of them gave her much information. Her father was a complete mystery. Double D probably knew as much as she did about him.

"Ooh, …uh,..well…" she stuttered, "my dad isn't around. In fact, I don't even know who he is. My mom never brings him up, so I assume it can't be good…".

"Ooh, I'm quite sorry Marie, it was wrong for me to bring it into the conversation…" he said.

"Oh it's fine Double D, you didn't know…" she reassured him with a smile.

The two entered the trailer park and stood before the old Kanker manor. The gold Toyota was not present, and there were no lights illuminating the old glass windows.

"I don't think anyone's home…" Marie said, stepping up the rickety wood stairs to peer through a few of the round windows. "Would you…would you like to come in?"

She couldn't believe that she had the nerve to invite him in, but now was probably her only chance to do so. Her mother was still at work probably, Lee was working, and May was probably at dinner with her dad.

"Are you sure I wouldn't bother you, Marie? Surely having the home to yourself for a little while would be a nice thing?" Double D said. In truth, he was incredibly nervous. His memories inside this building were definitely not the best and being alone with Marie didn't exactly fill him with confidence.

"Ooh yeah, it's totally fine!" she said rather confidently, pulling out her purple keychain and unlocking the front door. Double D cautiously walked up the rickety stairs and followed Marie in through the front door.

The smell of cleaning products and air-freshener immediately hit Double D as he walked in; he considered it quite a good thing. He looked around and took in the familiar view; a view he had not seen in many a year.

"Please sit down, can I get you anything to drink?" Marie asked, heading toward the kitchen.

"Ooh I'm quite fine Marie. I usually don't get thirsty, especially not when I'm functioning as a guest." Double D nervously responded.

"Ooh that is so silly!" she said in return, leaning her head in from the kitchen, "Would you care for some water?"

"Water sounds refreshing!" he responded, drumming his fingers together, waiting for the _gotcha _moment he was certain would follow.

"Got it!" she said, as she opened the faucet for several seconds before coming back with two glasses of ice-water that she laid on the coffee table; the table was already pock-marked with the remnants of ring stains, but he decided it was best to use one of the decorative coasters anyway.

"Why thank you very much, Marie!" he said, "I really appreciate this great gesture!"

"No problem Double D, I figured you might be thirsty after all that talking!" Marie replied, taking a short sip from her glass before sitting it back down.

The two sat in silence for some time, neither really knowing what to say. Double D could hear the lowly hum of the window-unit air conditioner and could feel the cold air blow against his neck. Random creaks and cracks occasionally rattled out, the old trailer showing signs of its advanced age.

"So, you three have different fathers, is that correct?" Double D nervously asked, breaking the slight silence.

"Yeah, we do." Marie answered. "Lee's father died when she was little, I don't know mine, and May's dad is still around. She's actually out with him now; they go to McDonalds for dinner every Monday."

"Oh, I'm sorry about Lee's father. Do you know what happened to him?" Double D asked, taking a small sip from his water glass.

"I'm not really sure, Mom doesn't really talk about it. I think it really hurt her, so she's never told any of us any details, except maybe Lee." She answered.

"How about May's father, is he an alright individual?" he asked, placing his water glass back on its coaster.

"He's not bad, just kind of indifferent to me or Lee. His name's Rod. He's a security guard at some business in town. He and Mom divorced when May was four, so he lived with us for those years anyway. He's always been awkward around me and Lee, though. May is his golden child, and he spoils her rotten. She always acts like a spoiled bitch when she goes anywhere with him, it's so annoying!"

"Why exactly did they divorce, or is it a very personal reason?"

"I have no clue Double D. I was so little, I didn't really understand. I just know they got to fighting a lot and mom would stay out really late sometimes. Rod left like I said, and they separated for a while before the divorce. He got joint-custody, and so she stays with him every weekend, and dinner on Monday's. Him and mom get along well enough now, but they definitely don't speak. Rod will call and leave a message when he's coming to get May, but they don't give each other any face time."

"I'm really sorry if I'm prying too much into your personal life Marie, sometimes I just become too curious for my own good…"

"Oh it's fine Double D, I promise. I'd tell you if you were digging too deep, but there's a lot of stuff even _I _don't know. Mom doesn't tell us much about the past or our dads. I guess she just doesn't want us to get hurt. I'd tell you more but that's about all I know, really." Marie answered, looking down with a slight frown forming. Suddenly the phone rang loudly, Marie's ears perking at the sound.

"One second I'll be right back!" she said, getting up and running into the kitchen. The green phone rang loud on the wall, it's curly cord flowing down before dipping back up again. She picked up the receiver and half-whispered a _hello _into the speaking end.

Double D sat quietly, looking across the contents of the living room as he heard muffled talking going on in the kitchen. He saw a bookcase with a few paperbacks, likely read by the mother in her spare time. A few boardgames laid on top of the case, and pictures of the girls were all over the walls. Double D could smell the lemon Pledge as he leaned over to grab his glass from the table, taking several sips until it was around half empty. He heard the phone click and footsteps as Marie walked back into the living room, but not sitting down.

"That was mom, she's running a little late but she's on her way home now. So I'd probably start heading home if I were you-"

"Say no more Marie…" he said, standing up quickly, "I'll begin my long trek home then, my own mother is probably not too far off herself."

"I hate to put you out," she said, "but my mom is really funny about guys in the house. She said she'll kill the first one she says. She's just really protective."

"I understand completely Marie, no need for apologies." He replied.

"Well I guess I'll see you around school tomorrow Double D! Thanks again for all your help, and it was really nice talking!" she said, following him to the door and holding it open for him.

"Yes, I agree with you Marie! It was nice talking with you again, and I'll more than likely come across you in the hallways tomorrow! I hope you have a wonderful evening!" he said, walking down the wooden steps, creaks groaning out under the weight.

"Bye Double D!" Marie said as she waved and closed the door behind her. Her mind flooded with a million thoughts as she gathered the water glass that he left behind and quickly rushed it to the kitchen for washing.

Double D, looking around at the lifeless gravel and cigarette butts, began his sojourn home with a happy smile. She actually didn't kill him or harm him in any way, how strange! Eddy would never believe this unless he saw it himself. He walked away from that trailer park as the evening fog began to rise, and it was but a few minutes later that the gold Toyota pulled in, crunching the gravel with loud announcement.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – _Mother knows best_

As Double D strolled into the cul-de-sac that he called home, the sun was just beginning to dip in the sky and twilight was scattered like a mystic prism across the homes that lined the streets. Violent streaks of pink and orange illuminated the sky, and the smell of freshly-cut grass filled the air to compliment the sweet odor of honeysuckle. He was just turning onto the street as he saw his two friends seemingly waiting for him to arrive.

"Well well well, if it isn't the _Kanker lover…_" Eddy said as he tapped his foot, arms crossed.

"What on earth are you referring to Eddy, I don't quite understand…" Double D replied.

"Me and Lumpy here were just up by the river, throwin' rocks when we saw you in the trailer park…" Eddy said, pointing his finger into Double D's chest.

"Yeah Double D…" Ed said "We saw you with Marie! Ed was scared Double D!"

"You two gentlemen must have much better things to do than spy on the affairs of others and stick your noses into their business. I'll have you know that I walked with Marie back from our study session, and we had quite the nice conversation!" Double D scoffed, folding his arms and closing his eyes.

"Double D, I'm telling ya man…those Kankers are a bunch of witches and they're gonna end up casting a spell on you!" Eddy said, now walking around Double D in circles. "They're pure evil, don't you remember all those times that they _tortured us, forced themselves on us, and held us against our will_! I sure remember, and it wasn't a smile on your face if I remember correctly. It's bad news Double D, and you've been blinded to it."

"For your information, _Eddy, _Marie is actually a considerably kind individual these days! She's matured quite a bit from her rambunctious youth and has really become quite the young lady. She's polite, dignified, and she's truly eager to learn and bring her grades up. But you two wouldn't know anything about that, _would you…?"_ Double D said, pointing his fingers at both Eddy and Ed. The two boys looked at each other quickly with shocked faces, before quickly turning back to Double D.

"Whoah…" Eddy remarked, the look of shock still remaining on his face.

"You make an awful lot of assumptions Eddy, but I've yet to see you actually speak to one of the Kanker sisters in years. That kind of judgement will misguide you every time, as it has in this case". Double D said, pushing his finger into Eddy's forehead. A slick look finally replaced Eddy's shocked face.

"I see what's goin' on here. Lumpy, Double D here has got the hots for Marie Kanker…!" Eddy said, bumping Ed in the chest with his elbow. Ed began his deep chuckles, bumping Eddy in return.

"_Double D and Marie, sittin' in a tree, something something something…..and a bowel of gravy!" _Ed sang as he danced around.

"Are you two quite finished now?" Double D said impatiently.

"Not really…" Eddy said, chuckling under his breath. "But is it true, Double D, are you really gettin' some kind of feelings for that…_woman_?"

Double D quickly turned his back on his two friends, beads of sweat now forming on his sockhat-covered forehead. He nervously drummed his fingers together.

"_I don't know…"_ he answered. "Marie is a wonderful young lady now, it seems. But I'm not entirely sure if I feel quite that way for her. Her beauty is striking, and she's extraordinarily kind and respectful. She seems to enjoy spending time around me, and I must admit that I enjoy spending time around her as well…_oh lord, that means…" _

"You've got a crush Double D!" Eddy called out, pointing and chuckling under his right hand. "Don't worry about it though, hell I'm proud of you. I never thought you'd catch the old love bug. Maybe some of old Eddy's charms done rubbed off on ya!"

"I wouldn't be so juvenile as to refer to it as a _crush, _Eddy." Double D retorted.

"Then what the hell would you call it then!" Eddy responded back.

"I would simply refer to it as a budding friendship that could _potentially _mature into something more if the circumstances align themselves correctly. Now if you two would kindly excuse me, I must hurry home now. My mother is likely waiting on me to start preparing dinner. Good evening gentlemen, I will see you both in the morning!"

With that speech out of the way, Double D walked past both of his friends and up the path to his front door, opening and closing it carefully behind him. Ed and Eddy watched as he went in, both still looking slightly shocked.

"Jeez, what's the sockhead's problem?" Eddy said, scratching his head.

"It is the sickness of Love, Eddy…!" Ed said, sticking his finger into the air, before putting his arm around the shoulders of Eddy. "Our little man is finally growing up!"

"Ed, get the hell off of me…" Eddy said, stepping away from Ed, who chuckled to himself.

Double D walked into his house to the smell of a wonderful dinner being prepared. His mother was quite the health nut, and as such Double D was raised to appreciate the beauty of good food. The smell was powerful with curry-rubbed roasted vegetables, a signature dish of his mother's. He knew she must be in the kitchen, so he placed those careful footsteps of his through the living room and into the room which the wonderful smells were originating from.

There stood his mother, her back turned as she was whipping something in a glass bowel with a whisk. This was a woman of medium height and quite slim, with flowing chestnut hair coming down just past her shoulders. Her figure was hugged by dark blue medical scrubs, with the bow of a tied apron coming across the lower part of her back. The sound of the whisk scraping the bowel was drowned out by the beautiful humming coming from the woman's mouth. She was humming some tune that was familiar to Double D, one he had consistently heard during his youth. A large smile creeped across his face; he felt like a boy again.

"Greetings mother! Dinner certainly smells lovely, I could smell the vegetables as I walked in the front door." He said, taking a seat at the breakfast bar that ringed the cooking area along with the stove and sink.

"Eddward! Come here sweetie, give momma a hug!" his mother squeaked in a soft-tone voice as she gently placed her whisk down and trotted to her son, who had just climbed upon the stool. She wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace and kissed his forehead. He smiled a boy's smile into her face, one which was relatively unmarked by the wrinkles and blemishes typical of a woman her age. She walked back over to her bowel and continued her whisking now.

"So tell me, how was your day at school today…" she asked, the mixture now finished being whisked.

"It was quite well, mother. I learned a great deal in chemistry today, and the turkey sandwich you prepared for me was quite delicious at lunch!" he replied, taking off his bag and placing it neatly onto the ground next to him.

"Good, sounds very lovely dear." She said, turning around to face him now with the glass bowel in her hands. "But tell me, why are you so late coming home? I expected you to be here when I got home, but here it is almost six and I got here at five-thirty."

"I do apologize for my tardiness, mother, and you are right to be confused by it…" Double D replied, again drumming his fingers together. "The truth of the matter is that I've been assigned as a tutor by Dr. Strickland to a student who is struggling in general chemistry. Therefore, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I will be staying back an hour to tutor said student." He finished, a straight smile on his face.

"Ooh that sounds exciting, and I'm sure you'll make a terrific tutor honey. But the times just don't add up; you still would have been here before me, even if it was only an hour. Somethings up, I know it…" his mother said, leaning over the counter and expecting an answer from her nervous son.

"Well there was a slight detour that was taken on the route back home…" Double D nervously said, tapping his fingers together. "The person being tutored and myself walked to…_her_…house and we talked for a brief time before I then came home. I apologize again for being so late…"

"This is about a girl!" she exclaimed with a giddy girlish grin as she clapped her hands together. "Do you have yourself a little crush, dear…?"

"I don't know if I would use the term _crush _myself…" he said, sweat starting to bead itself down his forehead and landing on his shirt.

"Be honest with your mom, you like her don't you…? Come on…_say it…_"

"She is a very kind individual, she's incredibly polite to me during our sessions." He said.

"Is she pretty…?" his mother asked, leaning in.

"I would say that she's quite pretty, yes…" he answered.

"Aww this is so exciting! Who is she?"

"Her name is Marie, mother. She used to…be around when I and the other neighborhood children were young. She's from the trailer park adjacent to the cul-de-sac…"

"Hmm, Marie…" his mother said, tapping her finger on her cheek. "Doesn't ring a bell…"

"She was the one with the blue hair…" he responded.

"Ah yes, now I remember!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together again. "Aww you two would be so cute together. I was wondering if you would ever start taking to some pretty little girl. I guess my baby is becoming a man now…" she said with a huge smile on her face.

"Mother, as far as my understanding reaches, Marie and I are simply friends. We've only spoken on a casual basis for a few days now, so I think you might be reaching a little too far ahead." He said, resting his weary head on his hands.

"Oh nonsense, I know how these things turn out. You know, your father and I started out as friends too, Eddward. These things always start from something, you know how that old saying goes: _From little acorns mighty-"_

"…oak trees grow…" Double D finished, having had just about enough of his mother's romantic delusions.

"Exactly. But I won't push you too hard, sweetie. I've still got this dinner to finish…"

Double D's mother then proceeded to pour the concoction she had been whisking into a bowel of drained pasta, mixing the two very thoroughly. She sat the pasta salad to the side, the peppery smell enticing Double D like little else could. Within the minute, the buzzer on the oven rang out in its loud way, announcing that the vegetables had completed their journey. She took them out with a potholder and placed them onto the stove, Double D's wondering eye catching them. He adored his mother's roasted vegetables, and it would definitely go down well today.

"Alright hun, dinner is served!" she said as she grabbed the pasta salad in one hand, the vegetables in the other, and the two headed towards the dining room just outside of the kitchen. Double D was sure to grab two plates and some silverware before joining his mother at the table. He handed her a plate, fork, and knife while also doing the same for himself. Two glasses of ice-water sat in front of them, taking Double D's mind back to the Kanker trailer where his last glass had been sipped with honor.

His mother placed some food on her plate, aftwards Double D performing the same ritual. He was sure to grab extra vegetables, the smell rising up and placing the biggest of smiles on his face.

"So I understand father is coming home this weekend…" Double D said as he politely took his first bite of food. The vegetables melted in his poor little mouth.

"Mhmm, he is indeed." His mother replied, taking in some of her delicious-looking pasta salad and nodding. "He's very excited to see you, and I'm sure he'll be thrilled that you've got the tutor placement. You know how proud he gets of your brains…"

"Yes, but he's never all that vocal about his pride. He only seems to know how to nod his head and tell me 'good work son, _but you could be doing better if you wanted to.._', he can never just fully express it." He replied, taking in more food.

"Ooh Edd, that's just how your father is. But he used to be a lot more open and wild in his younger days. College really changed him, made him all…_stoic _and…_jaded. _He's just gotten really dull and boring on account of his job. He used to be something else though…"

"That actually raises a quite appropriate inquiry that I was addressing with…_Marie…_earlier, mother. How exactly did you and father meet again? I believe you told me at one point, but it seems that the details were quite vague." Double D asked, leaning in as he was nearly complete with his vegetables.

"Well, we meet in the City, that much I believe we've told you. We both lived in the same apartment building in Brooklyn, and he was a few years older than me. He had long, wavy black hair and he was always going to the peace rallies they had in Central Park back then…"

Double D spaced out for a moment, until he realized that his parents were probably a few years older than those around him. His father and mother were old enough to be protestors during the Vietnam war, and that confused him a little till his mind cleared it up.

"I was so taken by your father's passion and kindness…" she continued, finishing up her pasta salad. "He would always wear this t-shirt with a peace-symbol on it, or he had these long-sleeve polo shirts with green and white stripes he would wear. We were both dirt-poor but we made it happen anyway."

"So when did the romantic endeavors begin?" Double D asked, hoping to get to the main event.

"Oh yes, that. Well we knew each other kinda. He would always try and flirt with me in the apartment halls, and I pretty much knew he liked me. We started hanging out as friends at first, and we'd go to the concerts in the Park together, go get hot dogs by the Bridge, and all that jazz. Eventually he asked me out when I was sixteen and I said yes. That summer was so magical, Edd. It felt like heaven for me! After my parents divorced, he really helped to relieve a lot of the stress I was going through. Then he got into MIT, and he was off to do his bachelors. We would write each other these huge letters with all the mushy crap that you'd expect. By the time he graduated and came to Columbia to do his masters in astrophysics, I was half-way through with my nursing degree at NYU. It was so nice to have him back."

"Did you see each other everyday then, when he returned, or was it more seldom?" Double D interrupted.

"Oh we had an apartment together by then, sweetie. We'd go out for lunch when he was finished researching for the day, or we'd go out dancing on Fridays. It was really something else. We had such a fun life until he went into the service, but it's not regretted at all. Once we had you he really started to settle down in a big way, and then the air force thing. Let's just say your father has changed a lot over the years, but he's still the man I love…" she said with a nostalgic grin, her dinner finished at this point. Double D was also finished with his and was feeling the effects of the lengthy day on his eyelids. Darkness had swept across the neighborhood, and sleep was the first thing on his mind.

"Why exactly were you and Marie talking about that kind of thing anyway?" his mother asked, getting up from the table and carrying their plates to the kitchen.

"Well mother, Marie was curious as to what my home life was like, and I told her about you and father, but that I didn't know many of the details surrounding your lives prior to my birth. But Marie was even more ignorant as to her pre-birth history, not even knowing anything about her father..." Double D said, still seated at the table.

"Ooh poor thing, it must be really hard on her without a dad…" she said, flushing each plate with a solid jet of water from the faucet. "I see those girls' mom sometimes in the grocery store, and she always looks so sad. And that trailer park is certainly no place for young ladies to be raised in, either."

"It is quite unfortunate, they seem to be heavily affected by the lifestyle." Double D, deep in though.

"Well maybe you'll find out more as time goes on. Girls take a while to open up, we're like buried treasure. You have to do a lot of digging to get to the reward…" she said, nudging him with her shoulder as she re-entered the dining room and sat down.

"I think building a friendship will be easier said than done, mother. But I'll have to ponder on this more. I feel like sleep would be a terrific solution to this problem." Double D replied, stretching his arms out in a big yawn.

"You go on to bed, hun. I'll be heading out of town tomorrow on another conference in Cleveland, but I'll be back sometime on Friday. Hopefully I'll be back before your father gets home, but if not, please have dinner ready for him. You know how cranky he gets after those long drives. Now like I said, there's plenty of food around and you have my cell number. Call me every afternoon sweetie, now go get some sleep. I love you honey…!" She leaned over and gave Double D a sappy and heartfelt embrace. Double D did love his mother very much, but felt she was being a little dramatic this evening.

"I love you too, mother…" he said, feeling a little suffocated.

"Okay then, goodnight Edd! I'll see you on Friday."

"Goodnight mother, I shall call you tomorrow to confer with you as to your conditions at your conference. Farwell."

Double D disappeared up the stairs and into his room, quickly closing the door behind him. The dead silence and darkness enrobed him as he carefully changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. He re-set his alarm to awake him at the proper time, and then closed his eyes. So many voices echoed in his mind; his mother's, Eddy's, Dr. Strickland's, and of course Marie's. He couldn't help but imagine that he just might be starting to get a little soft for her. She had been so willing to open up to him, and he felt so sorry for her situation. But then again, it was Marie Kanker, the former bully. This was all far too much for him, but every voice called out in his mind as he clenched his face and attempted to force them from his thoughts. Marie was becoming his friend, but he understood that it held potential to become something much greater. This assured him slightly, enough to drift away to sleep at least.

This was sure to be a long week for the both of them.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9 – Bell Bottom Blues_

As Double D was tucking into his rather comfortable bed, a cool mist rolled in and settled onto the trailer park in the distance. Hazy light exited one of the round windows of the living room, casting its rays on the fog and scattering into a million different directions. The fog lifted up and seemingly engulfed the Kanker trailer, twisting and bending around its sheet-metal exterior like a translucent snake ready to strike. No venom here, however.

Inside the three Kanker sisters lay scattered around the living room like diligent workers, as their mother stood over the sink, washing the dishes from the night's supper. She scrubbed frustratingly at the pot in her hands, sweat dripping down her auburn hair and plopping itself on her shoulders, drop by drop.

The three girls all sat in the dim lamp-light and were cast in the backdrop of the humming air conditioner. Lee was positioned on the couch, clicking through the static-dominated stations with a look of complete indifference on her face. She still had on her work outfit, a rather cheesy peppermint-striped affair with white jeans. May lay on the carpet, jotting down her day's events so eloquently in her journal. She occasionally giggled to herself, so self-assured in her own world. Marie was squared away at the desk in the corner of the living room, hunched over her books and studying as diligently as one could. The lamp-light found itself at home on her educational pages, and its usefulness was appreciated at times of the day such as this. Page after page flipped, and Marie's eyes became locked into a match of deep concentration with her chemistry material, pouring over every line until it began to make sense.

No one spoke, however, and the humming air conditioner huffed and puffed happily in the foreground of this family scene. Eventually the Kanker sisters heard the last pot returned to the cabinet by their mother, and the signature sound of the dish-water being sucked down the drain in its tight vortex alerted them to know that the evening cleaning was finished and their mother was ready to spend some time with her girls.

"Well girls, those dishes sure did put up one hell of a fight, but I won in the end…" Ms. Kanker said with a grin, stepping into the living room now, wiping her hands dry with the kitchen towel.

"That's great, Ma…" Lee said, scooting over on the sofa to allow her mother to sit in her assigned seat. "What are you feeling like watching tonight? I heard there's gonna be a new Cops on tonight, that outta be entertainin'!"

"Truth be told Lee I'm not really in the mood to be watching anything, but I've got news for you girls, and I think you're gonna like it!" said Ms. Kanker as she moved to the edge of the couch, her feet planted squarely on the thin carpet below.

"Ooh, what's the good news, Mom?" May asked, turning her head to the direction of the couch.

"Yeah Mom, tell us…" Marie begged, turning her chair around to also face the sofa. Each sister was now eagerly awaiting the news their mother concealed.

"Well, I received a phone-call earlier as soon as I got off work, and it happened to be…your grandfather!" she said with a large burst of surprise. The girls exploded with laughter and smiles at this most gracious news indeed.

"Opa's coming here…!?" May asked, pointing her finger repeatedly in the downward direction.

"Yes, of course honey!" Ms. Kanker said as she smiled at May, before turning to all three once more. "Opa called me earlier and said that he was planning on making a visit down here. Now he'll be driving, so when he gets here he'll probably be a little cranky. But he's really looking forward to seeing you girls, you know how much he loves you guys!"

"When is he comin', Ma?" Lee asked, looking at her mother.

"He'll be driving down on Friday, so he'll probably get here early. He said he wanted to beat the Detroit traffic, and you know how early he gets up anyway…" Ms. Kanker replied, a huge girlish smile on her own face.

"Is he okay to drive, Mom?" Marie asked, a slight look of concern on her face. "I mean he is eighty years old."

"Oh he'll be just fine Marie, don't you worry…" she said, tapping her middle-daughter ever-so gently on the arm. "Your Opa has been through a hell of a lot in his time, I'm sure two hours of driving on an empty interstate is the least of his worries, dear."

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure…" Marie said, the smile returning.

"Well girls, I'm gonna head up to bed on that happy note. You girls behave down here, and no fighting over the remote!" she said, looking at Lee and May in particular.

"_Yes ma'am…_" the three sisters said in a tired trio unison, and just as they finished to woman herself vanished.

"I'm so excited that _Opa _is coming!" May shouted out. "I hope he brings he photo album with him, he always tells such cool stories!"

"_Cool…?" _Marie said, turning now to May. "His stories are always really sad! All the shit he had to see, it's a wonder he didn't go crazy after."

"Yeah, don't get him talkin' about that stuff, May…" Lee chimed in, stretching her hands out and yawning. "He'll have everyone around here so depressed we can't even blink…"

"But aren't you two excited that he's comin'?" May responded in her pouty face.

"Of course we are May, we love Opa too. We just don't really want to hear his war stories, they're too upsetting to be heard again." Marie said, walking over to her sister and patting her on the shoulder.

"Well I'm gonna go color a little before I go to bed. Night sisters, see you guys in the morning…" May said as she got up and headed towards the downstairs bedroom that all three sisters shared.

"She's so naïve she don't even realize it…" Lee said, shaking her head.

"Yeah but at least she's sweet about it…" Marie responded, walking over and sitting next to Lee on the sofa.

"Lee…can I ask you a question…" Marie said, nervously sitting next to her sister.

"Sure sis, knock yourself out.." Lee answered as she looked at Marie.

"Do you….do you know much about your dad, Butch? Like what he was like before, well, you know…" she asked.

"Whoah…" Lee said in a shocked expression, her eyes blowing up incredibly large. "What brings on a kinda question like that…?"

"Well, me and Double D were walking and talking earlier, and we got to discussing parents. I told him that I don't my dad at all, but that Rod was still around, and that your dad died when you were little. Do you know anything about him? Sorry if I'm probing sis, I just-"

"Dad was a good man, from what Ma has told me about him. I don't know much either, sis. Ma don't let me in on much, you know how she stays closed off. But I do know that he was a police officer back in Detroit. Ma said he was one of the most liked guys on the force, and that ain't easy in that city. She said that a few months after I was born, he went a call one night and never came back. Got shot while on duty, and died on the scene. That's all Ma's told me, I'd tell you more if I could, you know that right, sis? I just know that it's a tender subject for Ma, and I ain't about to go disturbing no emotions."

"I understand Lee, I just wish I knew more about mine. At least May still has hers, I just wish he had more to do with us. I feel like Mom relies on Opa a lot to be in our lives, when really that should be Rod's job."

"Yeah, but you know how awkward Rod is, Marie. The guy can't hold a decent conversation to save his life. But you can't hold that against May, she can't help that she was born last. We just gotta except that things are the way they are. I'd love to have dad back anyday, but I never really knew him. Just things I've been told. But cheer up sis, Opa is coming and you know how much he spoils you! Take advantage of it while you can!" Lee said, hugging her frowning sister from the side. Marie's frown instantly melted into a smile.

"Thanks Lee, you always know just what to say…" Marie said.

"Aw you're just an old softie when you wanna be, ain't ya?" Lee said with a smile.

"Well I better get back and finish my homework…" Marie said, looking towards the lowly desk in the corner.

"Wait wait wait, wait a minute sister!" Lee called out, holding her sister by the arm. "You ain't told me nothing about your little date with Double D today!" she said, grinning.

"Oh it wasn't a date, Lee! We just talked a little is all, nothing too fancy." Marie responded, blushing slightly now.

"Yeah but he came in here,…_didn't he…?_" Lee smirked.

"How….._how did you know…?_" Marie asked.

"I seen that coaster sittin' there…" Lee said, pointing to the decorative coaster that Double D had used for his glass of water hours earlier. "Nobody in this house uses them things, and I know how anal Double D is about everything. I put two-and-two together and figured you invited him in. Don't worry, I won't tell Ma. Sister's secret…"

"Thanks Lee, I really owe you…" Marie said, smiling at her sister.

"Don't I know it…" Lee responded, smirking. "Well I'm gonna go talk to Ma real quick, you get back to your homework, kid. Use that brain Double D's been pumpin' up for you…"

"Will do!" Marie said, walking back over to her desk and sitting down, continuing with her diligent studies.

Lee stepped off the sofa long enough to gather her own thoughts and stepped towards her mother's bedroom. Lee and her mother had always had a special relationship, one which transcended the typical mother-daughter bond. Lee was a piece of Butch to her, the last remaining thread in a sheet long since tattered and worn. Years had taken their toll, but the love held strong through even the toughest battles for these two. Lee peered in the door, the room shrouded in the light of a dim lamp, and the flickering flame of a scented candle caused the shadows to dance on the back wall, Plato's show on display. She leaned forward and saw her mother, teary-eyed, sat upon her bed flipping through an old photo-album. Lee paused for this brief moment to reflect on her mother's sadness, the depression that gripped her most of the children's lives. She had never really seen her mother so vulnerable. She laid a slight rapping knock on the doorway, not really wanting to disturb such a vulnerable moment.

Her mother's face jerked up from the book, a deer in the headlights, perhaps.

"Who needs me…?" she playfully asked, quickly wiping her tears away on her blouse sleeve.

"Just me Ma, can I come in…?" Lee said, peeping through the crack in the door.

"Oh yeah yeah, come in sweetie. I was just looking through some old pictures. Your Opa coming down has filled me with some good memories, so I thought I'd take a little stroll down memory lane."

"Can I see some…? I don't think you've ever showed us this stuff…" Lee said, taking the spot on the bed next to her mother.

"Sure honey, a lot of these pictures have your father in them…" Ms. Kanker replied, flipping over to the first page of the album.

Lee's eyes sunk and her heart felt like it had hit rock bottom. She had only ever seen one photo of her father, and that was the one that hung up in her mother's bedroom, a decidedly innocent family portrait taken when Lee was only one-month old. And especially after her conversation with Marie, she was incredibly curious now as to the man her father was, and why it was that he was kept so secret from the family.

"This picture here is of me when I was ten-years old, and there's your Opa siting behind me with your Grandma…" Ms. Kanker said as she pointed to the black-and-white photo on the first page. It depicted her as a little girl, standing in front of a two-story home with a lacey cotton dress on, her hair cut into a dark-colored bob and her little socks shining brightly in white. Behind her, on the stone steps leading up to her house was her father, a tall and built man with light-colored hair and a wide smile. Next to the father was the mother, a petite and happy woman, happily holding her husband's arm as her hair touched down to her shoulders before curling up slightly again.

"Opa was such a strong guy back then…" Lee said, smiling at the picture.

"Well of course honey, he had to be. Working in the Ford plant made him as tough as the steel he worked with. I remember his hands were so tough, but he was the gentlest daddy in the whole world. I love him so much, Lee…" tears starting swelling in her eyes again before she flipped to the opposite page. Now there was more photos of the young family, this time surrounding a vibrant green Christmas tree decked with glittering silver tinsel from top to bottom. These color photos showed well the chestnut hair of the young Ms. Kanker, her smile a mile wide as she was mounted on her new pink bike, and happiness more as she was photographed playing with her new Barbie house. Sitting on a plaid-stitched sofa next to her was her father, with these color photos showing off his deep blond hair and tough pale skin. He had on a blue robe and plaid pajamas, a large smile on his face as he watched his only daughter play in the final days of her youth.

"These photos were taken when I was twelve…" Ms. Kanker said, looking at Lee quickly. "It was the last Christmas that I got any toys. Your Opa spent hours putting that Barbie house together; said that it was easier putting cars together at the plant…" her and Lee shared a chuckle before yet another page was flipped. This picture was of a Polaroid variety, and was slightly larger than the previous ones.

"This is me and your daddy shortly after we started dating…" Ms. Kanker said, pointing at the saturated photo. "He was 17 and I was 16, and boy was he a looker…"

Her eyes batted as she stared into the photo. There she was, a naïve sixteen-year-old with a standard Farah-Fawcett feathered hair-do, dressed in a flannel blouse and high-waisted bell-bottom jeans with a rather large and gaudy belt buckle. Next to her was Lee's father, Butch. He sported a quite wild-looking red afro, wearing an Eagles concert t-shirt which had been tucked into his own set of light blue bell-bottoms, the flares at the feet stretching out many inches over his black Chuck Taylor shoes. The couple were standing in front of a 1970 bronze-colored Chrysler 300, his arm gently placed around her shoulders. Both of the pair had a lovely smile on their face, and really could not look any happier.

"Your daddy had the most outrageous Jew-fro back then…" Ms. Kanker chuckled as she placed her finger under his head in the photo. "Everyone said that he looked like Art Garfunkel, and now I can see why they said that…your grandma took this picture right before we went into Ann Arbor to see the Eagles play."

"You were still quite the looker back then, Ma…" Lee said, gazing at the young, vibrant face in the photograph. "And I can see where I get this mess-of-hair from now…"

"Oh yes, your daddy loved his hair. He had a pick in the back-pocket of those bell-bottoms, and he'd pull it out all the time."

"What year was this, Ma? Looks like the seventies threw up in this picture…" Lee asked.

"Oh, it has a date written on the back…" Ms. Kanker said, reaching into the sleeve to extract the picture. There was black ink scribbled on the yellowing back.

"_August 7, 1977. Barbara and Butch going to concert._" Ms. Kanker narrated. "I was just a month shy of turning seventeen."

Ms. Kanker flipped the page, and various photographs detailed the memories of the young lovers. The bell-bottom clad teens were photographed at a high school football game, sitting on the same plaid-sofa from the Christmas photo; standing in front of a Christmas tree, this time in slightly nicer attire. Butch was usually seen in dark brown sunglasses, and in most of them he had a deep smile with his arm around Barbara Kanker. Then the next page was flipped, and bell-bottoms and plaid were traded out for tacky-looking rental tuxes and flowy, billowing prom dresses.

"There's me and your father at his senior prom!" Barbara said, pointing to the photo in the top corner of the page. It displayed Barbara in a delightful blue dress, her hair tied back in a tight bun and a drooping pearl necklace atop her exposed cleavage. Butch was wearing this horrible seventies-born powder blue tuxedo with matching bow tie, his afro traded in for a droopy perm of fuzzy red that fell around his shoulders. Next to his daughter was Mr. Kanker, with his signature blue button-up short sleeve shirt and green slacks, his blond hair standing out against the dark back ground.

"Daddy nearly killed me for picking out this dress, with all the cleavage hanging out…" Ms. Kanker said, using her hand to simulate the bust seen in the photo. "But in the end he bucked, he always did for his little girl…" she chuckled to herself.

"What did Opa think of daddy?" Lee asked.

"Ooh of course he didn't like him at first. Fathers _never _like the guy their daughters bring home in the beginning. He thought he was a no-good hippie with long hair and a wild attitude. But eventually they warmed up to each other, and Daddy liked him a lot before long. He became like the son he never had."

The page turned yet again, and more formal attire was seen. It was a photo at Barbara's high school graduation. A big professional photo of the young, bold woman in her cap-and-gown adorned the first page. Her chestnut hair folded under the square cap, and her pearl earrings glimmered in the photo-studio light. On the next page sat pictures of the actual event, a stage set up with a banner reading "_Congratulations Class of '78" _which sprawled across the top of the brown stage. The picture next to it was of Barbara receiving her diploma, and the long photo below it was of the whole family standing together outside the high school: Mr. Kanker in his brown suit and green tie, Mrs. Kanker in a lovely soft green dress with golden earrings and pearl necklace, her brown hair cut much shorter than before, Barbara in her graduation attire, and Butch standing tall in a green suit-jacket, green tie, and khaki slacks. His afro had been trimmed down just slightly into a more neat specimen which resembled an orange meatball.

"I was so proud that day, and Butchie was too. Your dad had graduated the year before me, and the cap barely fit over his big afro…it was so funny! But it was a week after this that he enlisted into the Navy. He promised me that he'd wait till I finished school to go. He didn't want me thinking of him too much instead of focusing on school. God he was such a loving man…" Barbara said, her words trailing off as her hand clutched her chest.

The page turned and there were a few photos of Barbara and Butch standing together on a beach boardwalk, Butch decked out in his white sailor uniform, that signature sailor cap standing firm where his beloved afro used to perch.

"That's your Daddy in his sailor outfit, he was so cute…" she said, smiling wide.

"How come he went into the Navy…?" Lee asked, slightly confused.

"It's just something he wanted to do. His dad had been in the Navy, and so I guess Butch wanted to do it too. He said it would help him get jobs later on, and he wanted to see some of the world before settling down I think."

The next page turned over, and it was back to formal attire. Suits and tuxedos were prominent again, and it was clear that this formal event was quite special.

"Ahh, honey, this is when me and your Daddy got married…" she said, nearly on the verge of tears again. "There he is in his black tux, and there's his brother, Isaac; he was the best man."

The picture showed the two brothers, the one with signature curly red hair, and the other with dark brown curly hair. Both had round caps placed on their heads, looking at each other and smiling.

"Oh wow…" Lee said, pointing at the picture. "I never knew Daddy was Jewish."

"Yep, he sure was. Luckily he family never made me convert, considering I was half Jewish already through Mom's side." Barbara said, "But although Mom wasn't an observant Jew, your Daddy's family was pretty into it. There's his dad there, your Grandpa Aaron." Barbara pointed to a picture of a slightly rotund man in a black tux with a Star-of-David shawl around his neck, yarmulke on his head, and large glasses on his nose. His black-and-grey beard stood out, and he had an arm around both Barbara and Butch as he stood in the middle.

"Did he die before I was born?" Lee asked about her unknown Grandpa Aaron.

"He died when I was pregnant with you. Your father was heart-broken when he died, but he always considered your birth to be the turn-around that brought him back. Mr. Goldman was a great man, so kind and gentle. He and my father got along wonderfully, especially since both of them came from Europe originally. They would talk for hours about things we never understood." Barbara lamented, flipping the page as more wedding photos were sprawled among them. "You see, Mr. Goldman fled from Poland once the Germans invaded, and he met his wife once he got here. He was a very wise and hard-working man."

More pictures showed the blushing bride herself in a lacey white wedding dress, her hair done perfect. A snapshot captured the moment the couple said _I do _and kissed, the image of Butch's father, Mr. Goldman, stepping on bag of glass seen in the foreground of the special moment. Barbara Kanker's eyes welled with tears as she flipped through photos of the reception, the limousine they rode home in, the beautiful three-tiered cake. Lee started to feel an emotional wind as well as new pages revealed photos of the young couple in their first home, a rickety old place just a block over from where Barbara grew up.

"We moved in the week after your Daddy got his job on the police force…" Barbara said, pointing at a picture of the two standing proudly and happily in front of their new residence, Butch in his Detroit police uniform. "Three years later, I became pregnant with you…" Barbara said as she pointed to a picture at the bottom of the page, Butch placing his head against Barbara's now rotund belly, listening for the sounds that little Lee was bound to be making.

"That's me in there huh?" Lee said, pointing to the belly.

"It sure was, honey. Your daddy was obsessed with you even before you were born. He did up the spare room upstairs, and painted it all pink as soon as we found out you were a girl. We'd go down to K-Mart every payday and get something new; a crib, a blanket, diapers. We were both so happy, and your grandma and Opa were too. Your daddy's parents were over the moon at the thought of their first grandchild. But of course Mr. Goldman passed, and that put a damper on things for a little while. But then…" Barbara paused, flipping the page over. "Then you came along…"

The large picture in the middle of the page was of a stressed yet happy Barbara holding her newborn baby in the hospital bed, her father proudly standing to the side. Several pictures documented every family member holding or kissing the baby at some point. One very sweet photo showed Lee with her grandpa, as she reached up and squeezed on his round nose.

"You loved to squeeze on Opa's nose, it was so cute. He thought you were the prettiest baby in the whole world, he wouldn't stop taking pictures." And then the picture that did it came. It was Butch, holding three-month old Lee in his arms as he stood in his police outfit. Tears streamed down Barbara's face and plopped on her blouse, one-by-one.

"This….this is the last photo of you and your daddy. It was a week before he died-" she broke down and the sobbing started. She muffled her cries in her arm, as Lee hugged on to her tight and attempted to console her as best as she could.

"It's alright Ma, you've still got me around…" Lee said, with Barbara holding her close. "And I ain't goin' nowhere anytime soon."

"I know, baby, I know…" Barbara said, her sobs diminishing into sniffles as she wiped her eyes dry. "I love you so much, Lee. But that's enough of all these memories, time for you to get to bed, you have school tomorrow young lady!"

"It was really nice talking about all this stuff, Ma. I never knew a lot of it, and I feel better knowing it now. Makes me feel even more special." Lee said, getting off the bed and walking for the door.

"Night sweetie, and make sure your sisters are heading to bed too. You gals need all the rest you can get."

"Okay Ma, and night to you too. I'll see ya tomorrow, and you get some rest yourself. I'll get these brats under control." Lee winked as she slowly closed the door behind her and heard the lock clasp shut and echo into the hallway.

The tears began to swell in her eyes as she looked toward the living room, but she simply didn't have time for them.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10 – I'm Waiting for the Day…_

Tuesday passed without reason or care, although it puzzled both Double D and Marie that neither of them saw each other throughout the day. They both followed their typical schedule and nothing unordinary happened, with the exception of one thing: they both spent a considerable amount of time thinking about each other, which troubled Double D to a certain extent. He'd never considered himself a romantic person by any means, but now he was beginning to get that certain feeling in his stomach. He brushed it off as indigestion, and simply went to sleep that night. Marie did the same, and the day ended with the same indifference as the one previous.

The morning rays of Wednesday tore themselves through Double D's window and warmed his face until the alarm sounded and the young man began his normal morning rituals. It was up with him and into the bathroom. After he was dressed, he rushed down to the kitchen, spotless as he had left it the night before. With it only being a few days until his father's arrival, he had to ensure that everything was in its proper place. Double D's father was a very particular man; if anything wasn't perfect, he was certain to point it out. It caused Double D to be a nervous wreck most of the time, obsessively cleaning and organizing and labeling until his fingers were sore.

It was off to school however, following the collective morning roundup of his fellow Eds and down to the bus stop they went. However, what had been beautiful sunshine had warped itself into a downpour of plopping rain. Jonny stood wearily at the bus stop with he and Plank under a great umbrella that stretched out over a considerable radius. Rain slid down the slick vinyl and onto the sidewalk. As the Eds quickly shuffled through the falling rain, Jonny was spotted in the distance.

"Hey!" Eddy said, pointing down the sidewalk "Baldy is sittin' there with a big-ass umbrella and we're gettin' soaked. We could use a piece of that action…"

"Perhaps we could politely inquire if Jonny would be so kind to-" Double D was cut off by Eddy's growling voice.

"I ain't _politely _doin' nothin'!" Eddy growled "Come on boys, we gotta get under that thing!"

The Eds practically hurled themselves towards the bus stop, overwhelming poor Jonny and Plank.

"Hiya guys!" Jonny said as he waved with a smile, "It's absolutely pouring out here, would you guys like to stand under me and Plank's umbrella?"

"Why certainly Jonny!" Double D said with a smile. "It is considerably kind of you to extend your umbrella to us in this voracious downpour."

"No problem, Double D!" Jonny said, holding the umbrella in one hand and Plank in the other. "You guys sure do look wet though!"

"Of course we're wet, Jonny, _it's raining out here!" _Eddy shouted as he tapped Jonny's great bald dome of a head.

"Jeez you're a little tense today Eddy, any reason?" Jonny replied, his head a little sore now.

"None of your business, Baldy!" Eddy said as he crossed his arms.

"Gosh, sorry Eddy. I didn't mean to strike a nerve…" Jonny replied, before shrugging his shoulders at Plank.

The bus came and every Ed and Jonny loaded onto the yellow rectangle before rolling off to the lovely school house. Rain clouds darkened everything, even the mood it seemed. No one really spoke on the bus ride, the rubber of the wiper blades making the same repetitive squeaking sound to disturb the silence that lingered. Once at the school and the air brakes letting out their deep breath, kids unloaded and marched off in their disorderly way through the glass doors, the bright fluorescent light contrasting heavily with the grey form of outside. Double D went silently to his locker, got his books, and watched as Eddy plopped along the hallway and down the stairs. Ed of course had a club meeting this morning and so he was no where to be seen. The halls clicked with the sounds of moving feet, but that was it.

Double D sat in his classes all day, listening as the rain pounced off the glass windows and streaked down, crackling under the occasional crack of thunder. All day went like this, with the grey mist causing the effect mood of the whole building to be dim and dull. The three o'clock bell sounded out, and Double D and Marie met for their tutor session. It went on quite well; they covered the material in question, And Double D was keen to point out that Marie was really starting to get on top of chemistry, but then their hour was over and the two proceeded down their hall in what was now their established tri-weekly ritual.

Marie and Double D crossed the threshold of the great glass doors and out into the world, where bright and piercing sunshine had replaced the trickling rain of the day. Steam rose from the black pavement of the parking lot as sunlight warmed the entire area, giving a humidity that felt like the air was three times as thick as normal. Birds once again came out, and little flying insects zipped around in their buzzing fashion.

"Are you okay, Double D?" Marie asked as she caringly looked at him, having noticed his higher-than-usual stress and disposition.

"Oh yes…I'm quite fine Marie." He replied, obviously not. "I'm just quite tense about this weekend. As you know, Father is coming and he's an extraordinarily picky individual. He demands perfection from everything, and that can be quite daunting for me to cope with at times."

"Ooh no, that does sound pretty stressful." Marie said, jostling her books in her hands. "But I'm sure you've got this under control. You're so particular and organized, I don't see why he'd be too bothered by it." she said, smiling up at him. The two made eye contact, this time a little longer. It didn't feel awkward this time. It felt like it was only natural at this point. However, after a few seconds, their eyes parted, and their smiles faded only to slight grins. Nervousness consumed them both, with Marie even starting to visibly shake.

"I've got a visitor coming this weekend too…" Marie said as the two continued their march forward, having now crossed the road.

"Is that so Marie…?" Double D asked, slightly anxious that it could be another male his age, someone that might perhaps make this situation difficult. _But why am I worrying about that, do I really want to see Marie in that kind of way? I can't even understand my own feelings on the matter, but it's the strangest feeling…_

"Who is this lucky visitor then?" he asked, coming back to his senses.

"It's my grandpa…" she said, a smile coming back to her face. "He's driving down from Detroit – that's where my family is originally from. He's coming down Friday, and I'm not really sure how long he's staying. Mom didn't say…"

"Oh how wonderful Marie! Grandparents are often some of the best relatives in a family, although I'm not as close to mine as I would like to be, considering our geographic disadvantage keeps us at such a distance. Are you close to your grandfather?"

"Ooh yes, very much." She replied, looking back up to him. "Before we moved here, we lived with him and my grandma at their house. He's such a kind man, and he was really like a father figure to me. We did everything together when I was little…Opa is so loving and sweet."

"Is that what you refer to him as, _Opa_?" Double D asked, scratching his head in some slight confusion.

"Ooh, yeah. Us girls call him Opa, because that's a Dutch term for _grandpa. _You see, my Opa is from the Netherlands. He came here in the 40s, just after the war. He's very proud of his Dutch heritage, and he taught us all a little Dutch when we were growing up, though he speaks perfect English…"

"Why did he choose to immigrate here, then? Or is it a rather complex reason?" Double D asked, quite intrigued by this Opa character.

"It's a pretty long story, and I'm sure if you met him, he'd tell you the whole thing…" Marie answered. "But to make a long story short, he was a teenager when the Nazi's invaded the Netherlands and his family was killed by the German soldiers. He was taken prisoner and forced to fight in the German army during the war. He kept trying to run away from his troop, so the commanding officer ended up sending him to be a guard at a…concentration camp. He saw a lot of very awful things happen, and he says that he was told to do a lot of things he found evil. He says that he still has a lot of nightmares from his time there, so talking about it makes him really emotional. He told me and my sisters about it when we got a little older, but my mom hates it when he talks about that stuff. She said it's way too depressing, but he's such a great storyteller that I don't really mind. But anyway, after the war, he was able to come over here and get a job in the Ford factory outside of Detroit, and he married my grandma a few years later. Then they had my mom, who then had Lee, me, and May."

"You have such an interesting family dynamic Marie, much more exciting than my own. I would be very interested in meeting your grandfather, he sounds like he'd be quite enjoyable to converse with and I'd love to hear some of his stories, even if they are more on the depressing side." Double D said, the two heading now down the road which leads to the trailer park.

"Would you….would you want to come over and meet him this weekend?" Marie said, biting hard on the inside of her cheek until blood started to drip out, filing her mouth with the metallic taste.

"I think that would be…quite interesting, Marie." Double D responded, nervously. "If you don't think it would cause any issues, particularly with the rest of your family.

"Oh it won't be, I promise. Opa always makes us so excited. He was like our dad when we were growing up, especially for me. Lee always had Mom, and May had her dad around. So I kinda clung to him, and he's always really looked out for me." Marie said, feeling a little more relieved about the situation.

"When would be an appropriate time to make my visit?" Double D asked.

"Probably sometime on Sunday. We'll probably be out doing stuff on Saturday, so Sunday will probably be a more relaxed day. That is, if you're not too busy." Marie answered.

"Sunday should not conflict with any of my current plans, so that does sound like an appropriate day to visit." Double D responded. "My Father will likely attempt to force me to attend church service with my mother and himself. Unfortunately my father is still quite religious, despite the amount of scientific education he has received."

"What kind of religion are your parents?" Marie asked, looking back up at him.

"My parents both were raised Catholic. They both originate from Italian ancestry, so they both grew up going to Mass quite frequently in New York City. I abandoned the notion of religion myself once I got into high school, but my parents are both unaware of this transformation on my part." He said, the two approaching the road leading down to the gravel-laden trailer park.

"My Opa grew up Catholic when he was still in Holland…" Marie said, "…but he's never been religious since I've been around. My grandma was raised Jewish, but she didn't really practice anything either. My Mom says that she was taken to Mass a few times as a kid, but only for the normal rituals. I've never been to church myself, and I don't think I'm missing much."

"Believe me, my father is such a stickler for religion that he would never allow for that freedom of choice. Luckily he's not here often enough to take us all the time, but my mother doesn't seem to mind nearly as much as I do." Double D replied, his head hanging low. A silence fell for some time as the trailer grew larger in size as arrival to it grew closer.

"So…" Double D said, finally breaking the silence, "Does your grandfather ever return to his home country?"

"He used to, all the time. For a long time he had dual-citizenship, and he'd take two weeks every summer to go back and visit his extended family. He'd take my Mom and Grandma and they'd treat it like a vacation. She told me that they used to go every year. But then as he got older, he didn't want to go back as much. He says that a lot has changed over there since he was a kid, and it confuses him. But he does love that country, it's all he ever talks about!" Marie said with a laugh afterwards.

"Well I most certainly look forward to meeting him, he sounds like quite the character!" Double D said, the two now on the outer rims of the trailer park; Double D could feel the sharp crunch of chunky gravel under his tennis shoes, and the trailer lay before them.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you around tomorrow Double D…" Marie said, turning to him.

"Yes, I will most likely see you around our school at some point tomorrow…" Double D replied.

It was at this point that, after a few seconds of non-awkward silence, Marie did the unthinkable. She reached out and gave Double D a hug, and not just a typical one either. She wrapped her arms around his frail figure and held him for more than one second.

"Thank you so much…" she finally said after some time, "Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it Double D, and for being so friendly…."

"You're…quite welcome Marie…" he said with some hesitation as he patted her back, before the hug finally ended.

Marie half smirked and blushed before turning and heading towards the steps leading up to the trailer door. She turned back to wave goodbye to him, before opening and entering the screeching screen door. It closed with a dense thud.

"Bye, Marie…" Double D said after some time, simply standing there. He turned around and began his walk back to his home in the cul-de-sac, tongue-tied and shell-shocked. Not merely by the fact that Marie Kanker had given him a _tender _hug, but it was more than that. He didn't seem to mind the fact that she hugged him, at all. In fact, he quite liked it…


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11 – Father Knows Best_

It took a very special day for Barbara Kanker to use one of her coveted vacation days. She certainly appreciated waking up the sound of birds chirping, rather than the buzzing drone of her digital alarm clock. The sunlight trickled through her window-blinds, and danced all around her cotton bedsheets in patterns of vibrant yellow. She stretched with a yawn before getting out of bed and dawning her soft white bath robe and heading out for a smoke. The clock next to her bed flashed the time, _9:15 AM. _

With her three daughters off to school for the day, Barbara found the quiet peacefulness both enjoyable yet lonely. These three girls were her whole world, and it was exceedingly rare that she ever had the trailer to herself. Work commanded the vast majority of her time, time that she found she had less and less of these days. She slipped across the empty living room and through the front door, pushing open the screeching screen door and sitting down on the wooden steps and so delicately led themselves up to the door.

She sat down, still half-asleep, and lit up her menthol cigarette, smoke billowing from her mouth after her first drag. She peered around at the empty trailer park, everyone either still asleep or out to work themselves. This is the first time she'd ever taken a personal day on a normal weekday in a very long time, so she wasn't familiar with how the trailer park looked during daylight hours. Her head was also heavy; heavy with all the memories and emotions that had strung behind her in life. Her little girls were growing up fast, and soon would be let loose in the world. She knew Lee would be fine, but she worried about all of them equally. They had to grow up far too fast, and he blamed it all on herself. She squinted her eyes and took another drag, smoke flying up higher and drifting away.

It wasn't five minutes before she closed her eyes and heard the crunching gravel under the pressure of fully-inflated tires. The sound transported her back to a different place in time, where the low hum of that engine roared as she would be sitting on the stoop with Butch, casually passing the hours after school until her father pulled into their driveway. She opened her eyes and in one brief second, she caught the full sight of that car, now pulling into the trailer park and up to her trailer. Daddy had come back to see her, his car very much the same one her daydreams had shown her from decades prior.

Mr. Kanker slowly pulled up to his daughter's trailer in his 1975 Lincoln Towncar, the brown finish still glossy and fresh. Barbara smiled as she stood up and walked over towards the car, putting her cigarette in her mouth for a quick drag before returning it to her fingers.

After engaging the car's parking brake in a quick ratcheting jolt, Mr. Kanker popped the door open and lunged two-or-three times until he finally stood up out of the car. He mumbled under his breath a few seconds before slamming the door behind him, that heavy metal thud echoing over the trailer park.

There stood the man himself, tall in stature yet also quite thin and frail. His wrinkled, shaven face bore the sight of years of hard work and pain, and his bright blue eyes sat behind large-framed glasses. His hair was a snowy-white color, and was neatly brushed to one side, dropping slightly over his wrinkled forehead. His outfit, typical of a man his age, was nothing too elaborate; cream-colored bomber jacket, white New Balance tennis shoes, and a dark grey polo shirt tucked neatly into his pleated khaki slacks. His face turned into a giant smile as he saw his daughter walking towards him."

"Daddy…!" Barbara called out as she finally met her father outside his car, her arms extended outward as she embraced him in a tender hug.

"Barbara, my dear…" Mr. Kanker replied as she shared his daughter's embrace. The two clung together in a loving embrace for several moments before she finally detached, looking up at him with her large smile.

"You got here so early!" she said, finally leaving the embrace and stepping back a bit, long enough to take a puff from her shortening cigarette. "I mean, I knew you'd get here early, but I didn't think it would be _this early…_"

"Well, I left the house at five-thirty…" he replied. His Dutch accent, while muddled and broken at this point, was still quite noticeable. "I didn't want to get caught up in that traffic coming out of the city, so I said the hell with it and left as soon as I got dressed. I brought a few things with me, they are in the car!"

"Just leave 'em for right now, Daddy. I'll have one of the girls get your bags when they get home from school. You shouldn't be carrying stuff that heavy at your age." Barbara said, resting her hand on his arm.

"You're only as old as you feel, sweetie…" he said, as the two started walking back to the trailer. "I used to lift things five times as heavy back when I was a boy…"

"Oh hush your fuss, Daddy. You come on in and sit down for a little while, I'm sure that drive must have tired you out…"

"That is probably not a bad idea…" he said as the two walked up the steps to the trailer door. Barbara opened the squeaky screen door, which caused her father behind her to shake his head and commence to fussing.

"Aye Barbara, why do you live like this?" he said, turning around. "I've got some spray in my car, I will take care of this at once!"

"No Dad, really. It's okay! You don't have to, it's just a small squeak!" Dad,…"

"Small squeak, ha!" he said as he opened his car door, dug around for a second, before pulling out a tiny can of WD-40. He closed the car door and walked back up to the front door. "Half of the neighborhood could hear this damn thing squeaking, but I have just the thing for this…"

He stepped back up to the screen door and shot three sprays of the WD, one spray for each hinge of the door. He moved it back-and-forth a few times as the squeaking ceased altogether, a smile coming across the old man's face. He placed his can in his jacket pocket as the two proceeded into the house, the door now quietly closing behind them.

"Come in the kitchen, Dad. I'll fix you a cup of coffee…" Barbara said, walking off into the kitchen with her voice trailing behind her.

Mr. Kanker stood for a second and surveyed the living conditions that his daughter and granddaughters were living in. He was impressed by how tidy and clean everything was, but was dismayed at the overall condition. He saw wallpaper peeling away, laminate flooring chipped and worn, and rusted metal all around. He simply shook his head and walked on into the kitchen.

"That's awfully nice of you, dear. A cup of coffee would go nice after that long drive. I had two before I left the house…" he said, sighing as he sat down at the small, square table that sat to one side of the trailer kitchen. "Look at you, in your jimmy-jams! Don't tell me you just woke up…" he said, looking up and down at her bathrobe.

"Of course I just got up, Dad. This is my first vacation day in a long time from work, and I thought I'd treat myself by sleeping in a little…" she replied, pouring some coffee into a white mug from her Mr. Coffee maker and bringing it over to him, along with her own cup. She sat at the table, opposite from him, and smiled back.

"Sleeping in! Who ever heard of this…!" he replied, waving his hand in the air. "I've gotten up before sunrise every day of my life! Why, back in Rotterdam, if a man wasn't up before sunrise, he wasn't allowed to even pick the cabbage!"

"Well this isn't Holland, Dad. This is my trailer. And when I have an excuse for a little relaxation, I'll gladly take it…" Barbara replied, playfully smirking back at him.

"I was only teasing you, sweetie. You deserve a break; you work too hard as it is. You look so tired now, I don't know how you do it… I'm eighty years old, yet I feel younger than you look!" he said, laughing as he lightly hit the table.

"Oh Dad, you behave!" she said, tapping his arm. "I honestly don't know how I do it a lot of days. It's easier now that the girls are older and able to look after themselves, but before that…I don't know. I'm so lucky to have poor Lee around, otherwise I wouldn't make it. Now that she's working at her little job, it makes things a little easier."

"You mean little Lee has to work to help support the house?" he asked, leaning forward to hear better.

"Ooh yeah, she does what she can, poor thing. I feel so bad having her pay me rent every month, but otherwise the lights would get cut off, and probably the water too…" Barbara replied as she meekly sipped some hot coffee from her mug.

"Barbara, this is unacceptable!" he replied, grabbing her hand. "I cannot sit by and let my little girl suffer like this! It's no way for a woman to live, and this house is no place for girls to be raised in! Look at it – there's cracks and breaks everywhere. The wallpaper is peeling off, the floor is coming up. It sounded as if the door was about to come off the hinges before I fixed it…Barbara, this trailer simply won't do…"

"I know Dad, I know…" she said, again sipping her coffee. "But this little thing is all I can afford on my own. Housing is expensive around here, and God knows my credit is way too awful to get a mortgage in one of these cul-de-sacs. I'm hoping that once the girls grow up, it'll be easier with me just living here. But it's all just a tight squeeze."

"If you had a decent man in your life, this wouldn't be happening…!" Mr. Kanker replied, lifting his mug with both hands to take a sip. "Your mama and I, bless her soul…" he said, crossing himself, "…we worried so much about you moving down here those years ago. We knew it wouldn't end well, and that you and the girls would be in trouble. You should have never left Rod, he was such a good boy! How could you just let a good Dutch boy like him walk out of your life, and leave you and the little girls all alone!"

"Dad, you know me and Rod just didn't work out. Yeah it was nice in the beginning, but he started drinking too much, and I started going out too much, and…I don't even wanna think back on it…" Barbara sighed as she rested her head on her hand.

"Shh, shh dear, I didn't mean it like that…" he said, rubbing her arm with his great calloused hand. "I just meant that it's an awful shame that you and the girls have to live like this. Come back to Detroit, I beg you! The house is so empty now that your mother is gone, and Lord knows there's plenty of room for everyone. Come back, get back on your feet, meet a nice boy to settle down with and finish raising the girls. I promise it'll be a lot better than living here…"

"Dad, that's just not realistic! I can't just pick up everything and go back! I have a job here, and the girls go to school here. Plus have you seen Detroit lately…? Not exactly the place I wanna be raising three teenage girls. It was bad enough when we left, Dad. Plus I don't wanna put that burden on you. We're doing okay by ourselves. It might be a tight squeeze sometimes, but we make it out okay…" she said, looking sadly into her coffee.

"Oh it wouldn't be a burden at all, dear. I get so lonely now that your mother isn't here anymore, and all my friends are dying off now. Hell, I might as well go back to _Nederland _at this point, I have more living family over there….but just listen to me…" he said, leaning forward and dropping his voice "_anything _has to be better than this. Our neighborhood is one of the nicer ones, you know that…the girls would be going to a great school, they'll make new friends. And I'm sure you could find a good job there, too."

"Dad…._I just can't…_" she replied, getting up from her chair to pace around the kitchen. "We've made our life here, Dad. And I don't really wanna go back. There's too many memories in that city for me, this place gave us all a fresh new start. And besides, I think you need to sell the old house anyway and move somewhere closer to us…"

"What…!?" he asked, lifting his head up in confusion. "Sell the house, you cannot be serious Barbara…I built my life on that house, raised you in that house, raised the girls in that house. Talk about memories, I wouldn't know how to live outside of that house…"

"You gotta understand, Dad. You don't really have anybody up there anymore. If you came down here and got a little apartment or something, then we'd be able to come by everyday and check up on you. At your age you never know what could happen…"

"I don't know, Barbara. I'll just have to think about this first. But I'll say with you as long as you like. There's no rush for me to go back home, and you know this…so, are the _kinderen _at school then?"

"Yeah, they have to be at school really early…" she said, taking a seat again and sipping her coffee, feeling a little more at ease. "Do you wanna come with me to pick them up later? It'll be a tight squeeze in the car, but it could work…"

"Oh no it's fine, Barbara…" he said, waving his hand. "I could just wait here, watch a little television maybe."

"Of course Dad, make yourself at home please. If there's anything you want, tell me and I'll get it for you. We'll make you a nice bed on the sofa in there and you're welcome to any food we have."

"I appreciate that, dear…I won't try to be too much of a burden. At this age just knowing where the bathroom is, is good enough for me…" he responded, chuckling under his breath.

"Okay Dad, if you say so…" she said "Marie won't be here directly after school though. She usually doesn't get home till around four-thirty or so…she has afterschool tutoring for her chemistry class."

"What's going on? Is she doing poorly?" he asked.

"Well, she told me that she wasn't doing well in the class. I have this strange feeling that she's failing. So the teacher has arranged one of his better students to tutor her, so she stays back a few days every week to do that…" she said, swigging the last of the coffee in her mug, walking over to place it in the sink.

"Marie needs to understand that school is important, she's too bright to throw it away by failing!" he said, slightly frustrated.

"I think she knows that Dad, she just struggles sometimes. Marie is very emotional, much more so than Lee or May. I think she has depression, but she refuses to go to the doctor about it. Half the time she lives off in her own world, and doesn't say much of anything. I do know one thing though, she's got a little crush on the boy that tutors her…" she said, grinning at her father.

"How do you know that?" he asked, perking up.

"I've noticed how she acts when she comes home from tutoring. She's got that fuzzy feeling all over her, and she's always blushing. I've got it figured out, but she doesn't think I know. Plus Lee's told me a few things about how long she's had a crush on him for. I think it's adorable, and Lee says that he's a really upstanding, smart boy. I haven't even met him yet, I think she's too scared to bring him around me."

"The young man had better be an upstanding boy, if he's going to court my granddaughter! You know I always had a soft spot for little Marie, poor girl doesn't have a father at all. At least little May still has her, and you might as well be Lee's, after Butch went. Maybe it is best that I stick around for a while longer, the girls could use a little bit of a male figure around the house…"

"Aww Dad, you're so sweet in your old age…" Barbara said, smiling at him and walking over to hug him. He happily returned her embrace.

"You're just saying that…" he said, grinning. "And I'm also going to get to work repairing some of the things around here. I had a feeling some things would be worn out, but I didn't expect it to be this bad…luckily I brought my toolbox with me in the trunk. Gotta have something to occupy my time with, ya know…"

"Oh Dad you shouldn't be repairing things at your age, what if you fall and break a hip…?"

"Darling, I've been working since I was twelve years old, I don't think I'll suffer too much from some light repair work. Nothing is seriously wrong, but a little goes a long way on these old trailers…" he said, putting his hand to the fading wallpaper. "Some glue here, a little putty there, and this place will look a lot better. Hell, if I was a younger man I'd fashion this trailer into a home by building around it and making it a hell of a lot bigger. But I'm too old for that now…"

"I've always thought about expanding out on the trailer, but Lord knows the money would never be there…" Barbara replied. "I'm sure the girls would love to have their own rooms. Right now they all share the one, and it already gets sporty at bedtime."

"Maybe one day I could get your cousin to come down and do a little work on that. But he's such a lazy drunk, I doubt he'd get up long enough to do it…"

"That's alright Dad, we make do. Sometimes it's nice just to think, ya know…?"

"I understand, dear…" he said, "I used to do that all the time in my war days. I'd sit around and wonder what life would be like outside that uniform. I spent most of my time figuring out what to do when it was all over, and that was the hardest part. That's why I ended up coming here, it worked out for the best…"

"And don't go depressing the girls with your army stories again, Dad. You nearly made poor May cry last time you did that…"

"If you think it nearly made her cry to _hear _it, imagine what I felt like having to live through it! Those damned _Moffen _nearly turned me into a monster!"

"Alright that's enough Dad! I don't want to hear it either… anyway, I'm going up to get ready because I'm going to grocery store before picking up the kids. Do you want to go with me?"

"I think I would like to stay here, get a few things done on the repair first, and maybe watch a little television too. You go on and do your shopping dear, I'll be fine here…" he said, walking into the living room.

"Okay Dad, just don't get carried away. If you have to take a break, please do. You don't have to do anything if you don't want to…"

"Yeah yeah, I'll do what I feel like, you just go off and buy your groceries." He said, going out the front door which was now perfectly silent.

"Okay…don't push yourself…" Barbara said as she disappeared into the bathroom.

She closed the door behind her and untied the knot around her robe, taking it off to reveal her naked body before the mirror that hung on the back of the door. She did a few cheeky poses, which reflected back the body she wished hadn't aged the way it did. She waited no longer to hop in the hot shower, steam billowing out over the shower curtain and blanketing the bathroom.

Mr. Kanker was already fussing under his breath as he pulled out his toolbox and commenced to do some serious repair work on the trailer.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – _Our little home_

The school bell echoed in the narrow hallways of Peach Creek High School, announcing to the whole world that the weekend had officially begun. Within fragments of a second following the rapid clanging of the bell, hollow wooden doors pushed open and eager students flooded the corridors, braced for the release of what had been a long week for essentially everyone.

Eddy and Ed strolled out of their remedial math class, Eddy sporting his signature school-induced scowl and Ed as giddy as ever. They found it rather difficult to navigate the confines of the packed hallway, especially considering how short Eddy was.

"Weekend is here Eddy!" Ed shouted out in his normal, happy-go-lucky way, "Huge monster movie marathon on Saturday, all night long a-ha-ha"

"I don't get how you can watch those things all day, Lumpy!" Eddy exclaimed, throwing his stubby arms up, "the same thing happens in them over and over, and I'm pretty sure that stuff rots your brain…whatever is left of it…"

"Mind melting for Ed!" Ed shouted while gripping his rather flat head. Eddy simply shook his head and the two made their way into the April sunshine as they pushed open the glass doors that lead to the bus-circle in the front of the school. The strong odor of diesel fuel curled along the oil-stained asphalt and whipped around in the late-spring wind, with the chorus of airbrakes releasing from the buses like a choir on high. It was most definitely Friday, with every last kid in Peach Creek cramming themselves onto the yellow buses, eager as anything to get the hell out of there. There was nothing but anarchy and chaos, with bodies pushed upon bodies and backpacks smacking each other in fits of anger. Pencils were known to fly on occasions, and it is reported that some kids were lost in the vast crowds swarming the buses on some Fridays, never to be found again. For these reasons, Double D typically avoided the crowds entirely by walking home instead, using the time to enjoy the quiet civility of suburban life. Ed and Eddy, however, were far too lazy for any of those formalities, and instead decided that the bus was the perfect mode of transportation to save them fifteen minutes of walking. That is, until Eddy could get his brother's car to actually run (and until he could successfully pass the driving test for that matter).

"Geez, it's like a madhouse out here, Lumpy…" Eddy said as he and Ed attempted to wade through the girthy crowd surrounding their bus home, Bus # 33.

Eddy peered with his squinted eyes into one of the glimmering windows of the bus, the reflections of sunlight nearly blinding him. He saw the faint glimpse of a round head with prickly hair surrounding it, astonished to say the least.

"Hey Ed, is that _Jonny_ _on the bus…?_" he asked, tugging on his friend's jacket-sleeve.

Ed also squinted his eyes and looked toward the window which Eddy had pointed at. Staring through sunlight was no problem for Ed, he considered staring at the sun to be a regular pastime. He too saw the round, bulbous head and the innocent grin of Jonny, the only person on the bus at that point. The folding bus doors and not even been opened yet, but there sat Jonny just as happy as ever.

"How the hell did _baldy _get on that thing already!" Eddy said, angrily stomping the ground. "It's not fair, he should have to wait like the rest of us!"

Finally one loud air brake sounded out and the folding doors of the bus opened up with force and vigor, the diesel smell now mingling with the dry-rotted rubber and cracked vinyl of the seats. Ed and Eddy were some distance away from the door, with the sea of people beginning to pile on.

"This sucks Ed, we need to get on there to get the good seat in the back! Hey Lumpy…" Eddy said, pulling his friend down and whispering into his ear, "Let em have one of your famous crowd pleasers…" as a smile creeped across his face.

"Sure thing Eddy!" Ed shouted out. He puffed up his chest, patted his feet a few times, and proceeded to let out the most righteous and holy burp ever produced from a human soul. It reverberated and echoed off the brick walls of the school and formed a huge gap in the crowd as people proceeded to pinch their noses and cover their face. It was as effective as a tear-gas container, and Eddy and Ed marched proudly up to the black steps of the bus and climbed on board.

"Oh hey there guys! Happy Friday, huh?" Jonny said to them with a wave, his signature happy mood shining through.

"Oh, uh, tell me something baldy, _how did you get on here so early!" _Eddy asked him, pointing his finger directly into Jonny's poor chest.

"Oh it's not because of me, Eddy; it's because of Plank. You see, he has massive crowd anxiety, so I showed the bus driver a note and I'm allowed to get on five minutes before the bell rings. Pretty cool, huh?" Jonny said, ending with a smile.

Eddy simply stared at him for a few seconds, blinking a few times and just a blank expression on his face. His eye twitched up and down slightly, and Ed swiped his hand in front of his face. Eventually Ed just picked up Eddy and put him under his arm.

"Ookie dokie let's sit you down mister…" Ed said as he walked back to the back of the bus and sat Eddy down next to him. Eddy simply sat in his comatose position, until finally he was slapped by Ed and snapped out of his state.

While the two Eds had been huddling around bus #33, the three Kanker sisters circumnavigated the growing crowd, choosing instead to walk home. As they came out of those heavy glass doors which sat perched in-front of the schoolhouse, Lee stretched her arms out and embraced the quiet dignity of the warm spring air.

"Ahh, would you just feel this beautiful day, girls…?" she said, taking in a deep breath with a heavily, relaxed sigh following.

"Oh put your arms down, Lee. Nobody wants to smell you after a long day of school…" May said, pinching her nose and waving her arm.

"Don't be jealous of my perfume, May…, not everyone can be as lovely as me all the time…" Lee said with a complete air of sarcasm, flapping her hand out in an uppity fashion.

"Don't you mean _mom's perfume…?"_ Marie responded, chuckling lightly behind her left hand. May slowly caught on to what she said and started chuckling along with her sister.

"What was that…?" Lee darted around, staring down the two sisters with her hidden eyes.

"Oh nothing, nothing…" Marie answered, pushing her bangs slightly with her hand.

The girls came upon the growing crowd that surrounded the buses, and they steered clear of whatever was happening around them. Lee prodded her sisters to the periphery of the gathering and they slowly dipped around the outliers. May caught the faintest glimpse of Ed, and she silently smirked, hiding her girlish crush with her right hand and a blush of her cheeks. Her crush on "Big Ed" was one which only the pages of her diary understood very well. She scribbled for hours on end about what could be, if it could be. Page after page would be filled up with little hearts with the word _Ed _concealed within them. She held his image within her own heart as well, and she understood that it was likely nothing more than schoolgirl fantasy. But a girl can dream, right? If only for a moment…

As they came around the far edges of the crowd and towards the school parking lot, a familiar sound rang out: a jarring yet soft car horn. It beeped at them for three or four times before May finally looked up the slight hill and saw that, perched at the edge of the parking lot, was that gold-colored Cadillac and that gracious old man standing behind the wheel, pressing his hand to the sound the horn once more.

"Look, Opa's here!" she said, grabbing at the backpacks of both her sisters, forcing the trio to turn their heads and wave in unison. Huge smiles sprang across the face of all three girls.

The old man slowly got out of the car, and he left the door open while he turned to them and gave a hearty wave in return. The three sisters hurried their way up the slight hill and walked around the hood of the car to greet their beloved grandpa. Each took their turn to give him a very warm embrace.

"Opa, it's been so long! I missed you _soo _much!" May said to him as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her ear against his chest.

"Little May…" he warmly responded as he patted her back and placed the most innocent kiss onto her head, "You know Opa missed you just as much! And my how you've grown…, how you've all grown into such little women! Each one of you carry that little bit of your mother, she was such a beautiful young woman as well…"

A warm smile creeped across his wrinkled face as he surveyed the three ladies before him. It had been only a few months since his last visit, but my how he missed having them around him constantly. Nothing made that old heart of his beat right than seeing such young and innocent eyes. He knew that they had been through so much, and yet still come out of it intact. He felt so awful for their situation but knew that he could do everything in his power to make it better.

"Opa, so great to see ya again! Seems like forever since you were here…" Lee said, embracing him with a warm hug and rubbing his frail back. She was tall enough to reach his shoulder, and so he patted his hand on her shoulders and smiled into her eyes, though he could barely see them.

"Lee, you've become quite the woman since I saw you last…you're every bit of your father though… you're a spitting image of him if there ever was one. But you still have your mother's beauty, and never forget that…" he patted her once more and kissed her forehead. She blushed awkwardly, turning around to make sure no one was looking, before she returned his affection by kissing his soft cheek.

Marie approached him quietly and wrapped her arms tight around his torso, resting her head on his little-bit of a belly, and felt safer than she had felt in a very long time.

"Hello Marie…" he kindly said as he hugged her in return. "I'm glad to see that you're doing so well. You look more and more like your mother every time I see you…before long I won't be able to tell you apart…"

Marie blushed lightly and playfully smacked his arm. "Oh Opa, you always say that…" she then left the embrace and the three girls began taking their backpacks off.

"Okay girls, go ahead and get in so we can get going…" he said, carefully climbing back into the driver's seat and closing the door behind him.

Lee quickly darted around to her two sisters and in one fluid motion cried out "_shotgun!" _

"Aww crap, she always gets shotgun…!" May fussed as she crossed her arms.

"Oh quit your whining and get in the back…" Marie told her as she pulled the latch to the rear diver side door and climbed in, putting her backpack on the floorboard in front of her.

"Girls, girls…settle down…we're all going to the same place, now aren't we…?" he said, clicking his seatbelt in.

"_Sorry Opa…" _the three girls said, nearly in unison. Lee closed the passenger door behind her and clicked her seatbelt secure, followed by May. With all the doors shut, Opa proceeded to crank his old Cadillac over and slap his shifter into reverse. He glanced over his shoulders, squinting his little eyes to make sure no one was going past as he backed out of his position and drove off, going up to the stop-sign which ended the road that lead down to the old high school. Lee immediately fiddled with the radio knobs before she found the local pop station, which the girls listened to with joy. Opa didn't mind, because he couldn't really hear the music that well anyway.

"You girls should consider yourselves lucky that you get the luxury of fighting over seats like this…" he said, flicking his turn signal on and slowing down at the stop sign. "When I was your age back in the old country, I had to hitch a ride on the back of my uncle's rickety hay-truck just to get into town to go to school. One time it snowed so hard that the truck couldn't make it, so I had to throw on my field boots and trudge through the snow for ten miles just to make it to school. My feet were so numb by the time I made it to the school house that I couldn't feel them until noon… we all had soaking feet so we dried out our socks on the radiator in the room…"

"Ooh here we go again…" Lee said, playfully rolling her eyes. "The old _walking-to-school-in-the-snow _stories…"

"It's all true, Lee. We had no such thing as _snow days. _You were expected to get up and go, no matter what condition it was. You girls take all your fancy things for granted, but for us it was really important…"

"Opa, why didn't you just stay home if the snow was that bad…?" Marie asked.

"It was too important for us, little Marie…" he responded, waiting for a car to sweep past so he could turn right and head towards the stop-light up the street, leaving the school grounds. "Our parents valued education a great deal. As farming people, not many in our family were educated. My father saw education as a means to the future…a way to find a better life off of the farm. He wanted me to be successful in life, to do more than he had done. So we woke up early, scrubbed ourselves, and hiked to school every day. You all are so used to everything being easy, but we had to put in an awful lot of work for what we got. I would get up every morning at four to milk the cows and stack hay with my uncle. Then I would scrub myself and get dressed for school. By nine o'clock I would be doing mathematics and learning history, and it was so much better than mending the fields with my father. You girls need to treat your schooling as important, because it's your way to a better life. I had mine cut short, and I never stopped being angry about that."

"We understand, Opa. We do our best!" May said, a little more remorseful after hearing her grandfather's story.

"Of course you do, May. You all do so well, you make me and your mother very proud. And when your grandma was still alive, she was very proud of you too…" he said smiling.

The girls tuned back into the radio and sang along to a song that came on, Opa simply focused on the road and muttering various obscenities in Dutch under his breath. As he turned right at the stop-light and kept going in that direction, the girls got a little confused.

"Ain't we goin' home, Opa…?" Lee said, the puzzled look on her face.

"Yeah Opa,…" Marie chimed in "…why are we going this way…?"

"Well what good is a Friday afternoon without any pizza…?" he said, smiling back at the girls. Their faces immediately lit up and May started doing a little happy-dance back in her seat.

"Pizza!" May cried out it happiness as she high-fived Marie.

"Thank you so much Opa, you're the best!" Marie told him, rubbing his arm from the back seat.

"Oh you girls are quite welcome. Me and your mom called and ordered it before I left to pick you up. We have to go pick it up now."

After a few minutes of driving and idle chatter, the car pulled up into the local Pizza Hut parking lot and Opa climbed out and walking into the store. A few seconds later he exited with two large pizza boxes and a bag of bread-sticks on top. Lee quickly got out and took the boxes from him and went back to the car, placing the pizza boxes on her lap. Opa got back into the driver's seat and backed the car out of the parking lot and back onto the road, destined for the Kanker trailer. Lee felt the warmth across her lap, absorbed by her thick jeans. All three girls were heavily drawn to the crisp odor emanating from the boxes, May practically drooling from the backseat.

Eventually the old Cadillac pulled up to the trailer, and the girls were quite stunned as they heard the gravel crackle and pop under the tires. They thought they might have pulled up to the wrong trailer at first, it looked so different. The rust coloration that had once trimmed the skirts of the trailer were now painted a lovely soft blue. The antenna that had been bent and broken under decades of rust and wind was now replaced with a vertical aluminum shaft pointing like a solid arrow. The creaking and half-rotted steps were now replaced with fresh timber, stained a deep walnut color and waterproofed to be sure. Even the front door was painted a solid coat of white, and as Ms. Kanker stepped out in her robe to see her family pull up, Marie even noticed that the screen door no longer sounded like a herd of bats flying off into the moonlight. There were rows of tulips planted in a newly-dug flower bed surrounding the trailer, lined with a tiny white fence. Colors of orange, and red, and white popped along the grey gravel and brought such a fresh burst of life into that trailer. All three girls had their jaws drop as they got out of the car, their mother smiling along with her daughters' shock.

"Different, huh…?" Ms. Kanker asked, sipping from her mug of coffee and crossing her arms.

"It's like a whole new house, ma…" Lee said, straddling the pizza boxes in her hands.

"Your Opa got here really early this morning, just after you all left for school. He just walked around shaking his head the whole morning, so I finally gave in and sent him to Lowe's for a few things. He came back with basically everything…" she said, chuckling after another sip of her coffee.

"They had a great sale on outdoor paint, so I figured "_why the hell not?" _Then I saw the antenna, and the wood for the steps…I figured I had a few hours, so I basically did everything…and the tulips…" he said, stepping up to the edge of the trailer and cupping one of the orange tulips in his hand, "I remember loving when these popped up as a boy, in the old country… there would be fields of them outside our farm. We boys would go pick them for the girls we liked. We'd fight over the orange ones, because that was the color of the Dutch. We'd keep them in our back pockets, then at school we'd go up to the girl we liked, kiss her hand, and show her the tulip. If she liked it, we'd put it in her hair, behind her ear. The orange tulip meant that you secretly liked her; if you were already together, you would bring her a red one…" he bent over into the flower bed, admiring the lustrous glow of that particular orange tulip. His eyes watered slightly as his mind transported him to a time and place where nothing in the entire world mattered more than impressing that one girl in his school.

"I remember I had picked the perfect tulip for her, and when I gave it to her, she gave me the longest hug I had ever had as a boy. Nothing ever seemed so innocent as that day, holding hands and walking through the city. I've brought it back a million times in my mind…"

The girls stood ooing and awing at their poor grandpa as he took those careful steps down memory lane. Eventually Lee got a little tired of holding those warm boxes, and May was growing impatient for some food. Opa stood up from his daydream and walked up the steps, holding the door open for Lee and the two other girls to come in behind her.

When the girls walked in, their shock was continued as they walked in. The house was completely spotless, inside and out. The linoleum floor of the kitchen was polished to a shine, and every appliance had been wiped of any dirt that had ever been there. The carpet had been shampooed and the couch and chairs had all been shampooed as well. The rackety old air conditioner had been upgraded to a super-quiet one, sleek and pearly white. The coffee table, which used to be adorned with hundreds of little scratches, dings, and ring-marks had been polished down and re-varnished in a beautiful cherry finish. A couple vanilla scented candles completed the picture, and the house had never looked better. The TV in the background, which had always showed a fuzzy picture at best (since the antenna had been broken for years, the family had to make do with badly constructed rabbit-ears on top of the set) now showed a crystal-clear picture. As Lee walked over to the coffee-table and sat down the pizza boxes, she was utterly amazed at everything.

"Ma, I don't know what to say, but wow…" she said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I know, it's great, isn't it? While your Opa was busy fixing up the outside, I figured I could get to work on the inside. I rarely get these kind of days off, so I used the most of it. I broke out the Pine-Sol, the Scrubbin' Bubbles, and even the Old English. If it had something to clean, I was cleanin' it today." She chuckled as she carefully sat down on her now clean sofa.

"Look at the TV May…" Marie said, walking with her sister over to the set. "You can actually see what's going on now…"

"I know, it's so pretty…" May responded, staring into the station broadcasting the evening news.

"Alright girls, get yourself somethin' to eat while it's around. There's plenty for everybody…" Ms. Kanker announced as she grabbed some plates out of the cupboard in the kitchen and passed them around. Opa grabbed himself a few slices of pepperoni and sat down in the large recliner-chair, while Ms. Kanker poured him a glass of Coke and handed it to him.

"Thank you there, Barbara dear…" he said, taking a sip from the cool glass and setting it down on a coaster next to him.

"Of course Dad, you've done so much today, you deserve a little pampering…" she said as she grabbed herself a few slices and a breadstick.

The girls all filled their plates and sat around the TV, scrolling through all the channels they now got. Before, with the mangled rabbit-ears, they only picked up a handful of static-filled stations. Now with the new antenna, they got over thirty channels and all just as clear as they could be. Opa smiled at Ms. Kanker, and the two watched as the girls lit up with happiness as they munched on their pizza and watched the TV.

"Thank you _so _much Opa, you're the absolute best!" Marie said, taking a nibble at her pizza slice.

"You girls are quite welcome, you deserve to come home to a nice house, not the old rickety trailer that was here this morning…" he chuckled, pleased with all the hard work his old hands had done.

The family sat and enjoyed their evening. After pizza, Opa broke out a huge tub of ice-cream and they all enjoyed heaping bowels of sundaes. The girls talked about their day at school, and Opa shared lots of stories about his time as a boy. He also filled in the girls about how Detroit was doing these days, and how he was tired of living there in that huge house all by himself. After the ice-cream was happily consumed, May got the boardgames out and they all played a few rounds of Monopoly, with Lee usually being the grand victor. There was nothing but laughs and good-times in that trailer as darkness grew over the trailer park, and that was a significant change. The living room light created a vibrant glow in the darkness as the crickets happily chirped away.


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13 – When Dad Comes Marching Home Again_

Double D rounded the corner that led onto the cul-de-sac street. It was that certain time in evening when day and night meet for a few seconds and decide to mingle with each other. It was just dark enough to send out the first few waves of fireflies, their shimmering light dotting the dark outline of the cul-de-sac houses. But it was still light enough to make out the edges of the horizon, which had become a very vibrant burnt orange color. Double D paused just long enough next to a hedge to observe the wonderful colors of the sky. He wondered with a certain curiosity if some great man had taken a brush and painted the sky such beautiful colors. Even as a man of science, it puzzled him sometimes how such beauty could exist in nature. Puffy indigo clouds occasionally disturbed the glow of orange, as the fireflies danced their romantic dance. They say April is the cruelest month; at least, Double D had read that somewhere once. But it seemed to him right now that April was the most beautiful month. It gives you that hint of summer without the heat. The sweet floral smell wafted in the air as the sun continued to decline. He shook his head out of the mental fog he had fallen into and continued walking down the road. He saw the light-filled windows of his house and noticed something else as well; his father's BMW was sitting out parked on the curb. There was something about that car that rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was after seeing the Kanker's worn-out Toyota Camry; but seeing that car just made his stomach churn a little with affluenza. He never knew the little things that determine how good someone has it.

To say he liked his father would be the overstatement of the century; he tolerated the man. Double D's father had odd ways about him. He came across as cold and frozen, as if a perpetual winter existed in him. Double D knew his history and knew that his upbringing probably did a lot of this to him. But it didn't matter, he wanted a dad; but instead he had a father.

The man had a brilliant mind, there was no doubt about that. But for all that brain power, he sacrificed a lot in decency. Being in the military all those years forced him to live as stern and straight as a redwood tree. Double D's mother had a certain softness to her. She still retained her coyness and sense of humor. She was truly a mom. But _father _was as comforting and tender as a lumbar puncture.

Double D walked up the path to the house. He let out a definite sigh before twisting the knob, allowing the door to push open. He closed it silently behind him, allowing the click to be audible. The lamp-light of the living room began to take-over as the sun had given its final remarks of the day. The light scattered and descended on all the nice furniture that existed in this living room. Mahogany coffee tables and end-tables, leather upholstery on the couch and chairs, a floor-model television. Double D's thoughts flashed back to the Kanker's living room: in a haze he remembered their squeaky air-conditioner, their ring-stained coffee table, the front door that sounded off like a herd of bats flying out of a cave. But he remembered something else, something much more real. He remembered how lived-in it felt, how homey it was. He knew that the Kanker's all gathered in that living room on a nightly basis to watch smutty TV shows and gossip over cups of Kool-Aid and Knabb's crackers. It struck him with nostalgia that he never even experienced.

He couldn't even remember the last time someone even sat in his living room.

Approaching the door adjacent to the staircase, he could hear the clanging of pots and pans and the murmur of conversation. He pushed open the door and immediately saw his mother, with her apron on, drying the last of the saucepans from that evening's meal. She noticed him immediately and waved with a splitting grin on her face.

"Hiya hun, we've been wondering where you were!" she said, hanging the pan up above the stove and turning back around.

"Sorry Mother, I was just taking a little of my time to enjoy the beautiful spring evening.." Double D said, walking up further and rounding the slight corner of the kitchen. He saw his father perched on a bench at the breakfast bar, nursing a steaming mug of coffee. He was still decked in his blue Air Force uniform, his lieutenant colonel oak-leaf shinning silver. It was a glimmer that was familiar to him, as familiar as the glimmer that came from the fireflies earlier.

"Hello Eddward." his father said as he casually raised his right hand toward Double D.

Double D came over and slid his satchel off his shoulder, placing it carefully on the floor next to him as he took a seat on the farthest stool at the breakfast bar.

"Hello _father…" _Double D replied, placing his hand out-front to shake his father's. The two shook hands and smirked at each other. Double D wondered if his father's smirk was genuine, because he knew his own was not.

"How was school today, son? Learn anything new?" he asked, taking a sip from his coffee. In this bright kitchen light, his gray hairs popped out in contrast to his black hair. He was graying at quite the rate, a man who was well into his fifties at that point.

"It was quite nice father. I'm beginning to really enjoy chemistry now that we've begun delving deeper into thermodynamics. There's nothing on Earth that makes me happier than seeing those equations first thing in the morning…" Double D replied, holding his hands to his face in a joyous expression. His father looked at him blankly for a few seconds, sipped his coffee, and sipped again.

"I liked it too…" he said rather subtly, "Just wait until you _really _learn about thermodynamics. It nearly killed me the first time in undergrad…"

_There he goes again… _Double D thought, as his mother slid his plate of food in front of him. It was broiled ribeye steak served with a baked potato and some spinach salad. Double D could never have any true interests according to his father. Anything he learned in school was "only the beginning" or "just wait until…". These sayings flew out of his father at a speed approaching the speed of light. Everything had to be qualified. Everything had to be conditioned. Even if he had a PhD, Double D's father would still find ways to shoot down any fun he had while learning. Robert Morano didn't see learning as fun or enjoyable; he saw it as work. He always figured the more you hated something, the more it would stick to you. He lived his whole professional life by that motto, to the detriment of his wife and son.

"Oh don't listen to your father, Edd. He just doesn't like to admit he wasn't the best student in the world…" his mother lamented, untying her apron to reveal her nurse's uniform underneath. Her dark hair was tied back into quite the messy bun, and her figure was cast in quite a lovely way in that kitchen light.

His mother was always there to pick up the pieces that his father always took out. Double D decided from a very young age that his mother was basically the only parent he had. Perhaps he and Marie were not so different in that regard. His mother adored him, and he adored her. As an only child he had to share his love with no one, and it was a special kind of love indeed. He didn't hate his father; he didn't know him well enough to hate him. He always felt deep-down that his father didn't really want children, or even a wife. Family didn't mean much to Robert Morano. Julie, Double D's mother, had also known his cold feeling for a long time. She knew deep-down that the only meaningful thing he had ever given to her was her son. He consistently forgot anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays. Divorce was a word that played in her mind more than once, but she knew that they needed his substantial paycheck to keep afloat. And she still craved him when he was away, even more so after she had grown older.

"Perhaps I wasn't the best…" he replied, getting up off the stool and pushing it in, carrying his coffee with him. "But I'm the best now, and that's what matters most to me…"

"Best according to _who…?_" his mother playfully replied. She leaned over the breakfast bar on the opposite side, her breasts pressed against the countertop.

"NASA." He said, sipping from his coffee and beginning to walk away. "I'm going up to my office to rest a while. It was nice seeing you Edd, we'll talk more tomorrow…" and with that he pushed open the door, and his footsteps were heard going up the staircase. The faint thud of his office door vibrated the ceiling, and Double D had by that time finished his dinner.

"So…" his mother said, taking his plate and scraping the few scraps into the garbage disposal, "have you talked to that girl anymore hun?"

Double D turned beet red and froze for a few seconds.

"I…I have, a little. But she is a busy person mother, she has quite a few responsibilities at home. I wouldn't want to intrude." He responded, feeling the warmth of his blush against his hand.

"Come on, you've got to make your move!" she teased, reaching over to pinch his arm. "Don't you know that mothers know best! I was a girl once, ya know. I've been there and done that, girls _want _to be pursued. So you need to do yourself some pursuing!"

"Perhaps I'm not in the mood for pursuing, mother. Maybe I…maybe I just want to consider Marie a friend. I'm not in the habit currently to worry about possible romantic endeavors. Maybe I just want to leave that sort of thing alone for right now…" he responded, looking down into his palms and trying to read them.

"You can't wait forever…" she said, leaning over and smiling. "I know you're still young, Edd, but don't ever think that you're too good for a good woman. Sometimes it takes one to bring out the best in you. But it's something that you have to chose for yourself. If I were you, I'd make the move. She seems like she likes you…the worst answer you can get is no…"

"I know, mother, I know. I just…don't think now is the time. After high school, everyone is likely to scatter into a million different directions. I don't know where my future is taking me yet; all I know is I've got goals and I'm trying to work towards them…" he replied, standing up and beginning to pace around in the kitchen. His mother's eyes followed him, and she smiled the entire time, shaking her head from time to time.

"Just like your father…" she said, putting the final plate into the dishwasher and closing it shut, flipping the on switch in the process. "He dragged his feet about everything, too. I was the one that ended up asking _him _out in the end. Not much has changed, either…" she said, blowing a puff of air that lifted her chestnut bangs off her forehead ever-so slightly. Double D didn't stomach the comparison well, and he was growing tired. He took his bag and proceeded over to his mother.

"I'm going to head up to bed now, mother. It's been quite a long day, and I think lying down would do a world of good. Thank you very much for dinner, it was excellent as always"

"Okay honey, you go get you some rest…" she said, embracing him in a warm hug and patting his back. "And you remember what I told you okay…it's all up to you."

"I will, mother…" he said, smiling back at her and leaving the embrace. He walked towards the door and pushed it open.

"Night hun!" she said, happily waving.

"Goodnight mother!" He said, pushing the door open and allowing it to thud shut behind him. He quietly climbed the wooden stairs and walked towards his bedroom door. He opened it and went in, flicking his lamp on and seeing all his school work neatly organized on his desk. His trusty cactus, Jim, stood proudly next to his bed, welcoming his friend home for the night. Double D took off his shirt and examined his scrawny frame for a second, puzzled if any girl would find it attractive. He stripped off his underwear and wondered if anything about him was attractive. Double D had never really thought about his appearance before, but standing naked in his room, he felt incredibly vulnerable and alone. He knew this was going to be harder than he thought. He put his pajamas on and climbed into bed, pulling the covers up to his chin and clicking his lamp off, shrouding his room in darkness. A million fears bloomed in his mind, the bittersweet spring breeze blowing in through his open window and tickling his nose. His fears danced right in front of him, and he felt as tight as walking on broken glass; a tightrope walker with one foot in his grave. His anticipation kept him awake, but his fear pushed him to sleep. Eventually he dozed off after being scared of his internal conflict.

His mother, Julie, proceeded to finish her cleaning after Double D went off to contemplate in the prison of his mind upstairs. She wiped off all the counters and cleaned off the stove. With everything as clean as it could be, she flicked off all the lights, locked the front door, and found herself wandering upstairs. The luminous grandfather clock in the living room boomed out nine loud booms, signaling the fact that it was getting to be quite late. As she rounded the top stair, she noticed that her husband's office light was off. She figured he must have snuck off to bed. Walking a little further down the hall, she could detect the faint murmur of the bedroom television. _Ahh, he did welcome himself to bed, _she thought. It was always weird having him in the house, especially in the bed. He was essentially a stranger, and his presence always seemed to throw everything off. She went into the bathroom and changed into her sleep attire: a large t-shirt and flannel bottoms. She looked at herself in the mirror for a few seconds in the bathroom, noticing that her roots were beginning to show and her wrinkles were starting to catch up with her. She hated getting old, because beauty was supposed to be with her forever. It just didn't seem fair.

She creeped off to the bedroom and slowly slid the door open, peeping inside. She noticed Robert lying on the bed, dressed down to his undershirt and boxers. He was leaning up, watching the news on TV with his arm behind his head.

"Hey honey…" he said, looking over her way. "I was pretty tired so I figured I'd hop into bed…"

She smiled at him, but there was certainly not a smile on the inside. She knew that he didn't really like coming in once every month. And truth be told, part of her didn't event want to see him that much. But part of her did, the part of her that was still alive and begging to be wanted, desired…loved. She playfully climbed on the bed and kneeled over him, a huge grin streaking across her face.

"Hopefully not _too _tired…" she said, pulling up her shirt and exposing her ample breasts to him. His face froze for a second before he leaned forward and began to indulge her, the shirt eventually flying off to the floor along with every other item of clothing. There had always been a rough sexual frustration between them, one that seemed to superficially calm any tension that built up over time. The night was filled with grunting and groaning, slapping sounds and vocalizations. Once a month, that's all the time they could make. But with this time, they returned to their high-school mentalities, and he took the opportunity to channel every single one of his frustrations into rough sex. It was a good thing Double D was such a good sleeper, because he never had any understanding of his parents' escapades. He was currently lost in dream world, hoping that soon his dreams would turn into realities.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – _Breakfast in America _

Saturday morning broke, like the first morning to ever occur. April was beginning to transform into May, and that meant that the mornings were getting warmer by the day. Sunlight cascaded all around the cul-de-sac in shimmering rays of glow. It bounced off the myriad of trees dotted around, their soft green hue growing darker as the spring heat began to turn up. Birds chirped here and there, grabbing mouthfuls of seed from various different birdfeeders that cul-de-sac residents put out. Rolf was tending to business in his backyard, pulling weeds from the garden and cursing under his breath. Nazz was out jogging in her sports bra and sweatpants, listening to her Walkman as she did so. The whole neighborhood seemed as happy as it could be.

Sunlight even dared to pierce the glass doors that marked the entrance to Eddy's bedroom. Though the clock read 9:30, he was still slumbering as if it was the middle of the night. Eventually, though, the light became too much for him to handle. As a beam dashed towards his eyes and knocked for entrance, he popped his eye open to allow the entrance, even as unwelcome as it was. He grumbled a little as he stretched out in his circular bed, tugging back the faux-fur duvet and revealing his ruddy boxer shorts. He sat up on the edge of the bed now, giving his arms a final stretch as a large yawn bellowed out of his wide mouth. His mouth smacked up and down slightly as he finished, the light from the doors warming the back of his head, feeling right at home now. He got up now and slid into some fuzzy pink slippers that laid beside his night-stand; he also grabbed his white bathrobe and loosely tied the knot around his waist. The sound of bacon sizzling and coffee mugs clanking let him know that breakfast was right around the corner; and breakfast was something that the business of Eddy was always open for.

The door to his bedroom creaked open as Eddy walked out into the hallway, peering down to make sure that he hadn't woken up from a breakfast-induced dream. Indeed he hadn't; he could now vividly hear the sizzling grease and his parents mumbling about something or other. He stepped fully out of his room and closed the door behind him, leaving his bed carefully unmade.

The scene in the kitchen was fairly typical for a Saturday morning affair – his father, old Patrick McGee, was the slickest used car salesman this side of the Mississippi; it was often joked that he would be one hell of a politician if only the pay was better. His first name was Edward, just like Eddy, but he preferred going by his middle name, Patrick. Old McGee was perched at his normal spot at the family's breakfast nook in the kitchen, reading the newspaper with his skinny little reading glasses. He was adorned in a red-patterned plaid dressing robe, which sat atop a pair of blue pajamas. Old McGee was very much your average dad material; one foot in his grave, one in his bank account. He very much resembled Eddy; he was a stout man with springy gray hairs that he combed over to cover his balding head. His face as just as blocky and angled as Eddy's though his advanced age did cause a fair share of wrinkles and crows' feet, especially around his eyes. He popped the newspaper to the sports section and coughed just as his only good son came around the corner of the hallway and appeared in the kitchen, still half-asleep with the bathrobe he had on trailing on the ground. Old McGee looked up over his carefully balanced glasses and looked at his zombie-like son.

"Mornin' Eddy…. I was wondering when you were finally gonna wake up!" he said as he went back to his sports section. Eddy, still groggy, glanced briefly at the newspaper as he shuffled over to the breakfast nook, his pink slippers gliding across the slick tilework. He noticed one of his father's cheesy ads on the cover of the paper; a picture of him with his stuffed gorilla, holding up a sign that said _"Spring forward with a used car from McGee's! With McGee, a loan is guaranteed!" _.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know…" Eddy mumbled as he took a seat in the booth across from his father. "Well I'm up now…"

"Well…" his old man said, flipping the page over and smiling at his boy, "I figured that if the sunlight didn't get ya, the smell comin' from the bacon just might…". He chuckled with his lips closed and flipped the page again, reading the last of the sports news.

"Hopefully tomorrow morning I'll be hitting the golf course, if this weather holds up… would you like to join your old man for a round tomorrow, Eddy?" he asked, flipping the paper over and folding it back in half, setting it down at the end of the nook table.

"Sure dad, I could use some practice on the ole backswing…" Eddy chuckled, pretending to swing a club from his seat. His grogginess had subsided for the most part, and he had his old man's full attention. Old Man McGee leaned over the table and sipped from his coffee mug, smacking his lips until they formed a tight grin.

"That's my boy…" he said, leaning back once again with mug in hand. Eddy could hear the slow sizzle of bacon and he could see the carton of eggs on the counter, looking like they were going to be used. But he didn't see his mother anywhere; Holly McGee was almost always on-call when it came to a weekend breakfast.

"Yo pops, where's mom at?" he said, placing his arm on the back of the booth and looking around the kitchen.

"Went to the bathroom, probably…" the old man said, sipping once more on his coffee and drumming his fingers on the small, rectangular table. "She'll be back in just a second."

"Coolio…" Eddy said as he got up and strolled over to the fridge. He popped it open long enough to grab the carton of OJ and poured himself a tall glass of the orange goop. He took a good ole swig and took his seat back at the booth. His father looked out the little square window that sat above the breakfast nook, looking over his nicely manicured lawn. Eddy looked at the little square TV that sat on the kitchen counter next to the fridge, the tiny little rabbit ears poking up from its top. The morning talk shows were flashing in fairly rough resolution, mostly there for his mother's entertainment while slaving over the hot stove.

Speaking of his mother, Holly McGee came rolling into the kitchen, sporting her fluffy pink bath robe as the sound of a flushing toilet echoed in the hallway. Her flouncy blonde hair bounced on her shoulders as she came in, seeing her two men perched at the old breakfast nook.

"Ooh good morning sweetie!" she said, tiptoeing over and kissing her grimacing son on the forehead with a loving smile. Eddy's face flattened and his old man chuckled, crossing his legs beneath the table and removing his skinny little reading glasses.

"Morning mom, but do you have to do the kissing thing…?" he said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve." Jeeze I'm nearly seventeen for goodness sake!"

"But not too old for some of mommy's love!" she rang out, grabbing a pan down from the hook and cracking a few eggs. His father smirked and chuckled along with his son.

The two of them were thick as thieves but Eddy still kept a slight distance from his old man. Eddy admired his old man's hustle and how he had honed the art of the scam down to a science; but he also felt like his father expected too much out of him. He always experienced his father's fussing whenever his grades came out, and he always assumed that his old man expected his son to be a genius on the scale of Double D. But truth be told, Old Man McGee had come to terms with his son's shortcomings after all those years of bad grades and letters home. Eddy wasn't the brightest bulb in the pack, he knew that; but he realized that it wouldn't be the end of the world, so long as Eddy graduated. His oldest son, Eddy's infamous brother, was such a washed-up failure that Eddy seemed like a prodigy by comparison. Old McGee just wanted Eddy to be content and make a living for himself. He figured everything else would fall in place.

Pretty soon Holly McGee finished up with the breakfast and laid out the warm plates in front of both father and son. The plates, decorated with fried eggs, bacon, and buttered toast made the boys' mouths water with anticipation as they picked up their forks. She herself sat down next to the old man, her plate instead showcasing some fruit salad adorned with some low-fat vanilla yogurt. She crossed herself, elbowed her husband and son to do the same, and the family began to enjoy their breakfast as the little TV squeaked away with some infomercial about a grass seed that grows wherever you put it.

"You know son…" the old man said, chewing up a floppy piece of egg in the corner of his mouth and wagging his fork in the general direction of Eddy, "Only a few more weeks until summer vacation starts…"

"Ooh goodness don't I know it…!" Eddy howled out, putting away three strips of bacon and chugging some of the OJ from his cup.

"What I mean is,…would you like to come work for your old man over the summer? I could use somebody to clean the cars that come in, and who knows, I might even stick you on the sales floor if you prove your salt!"

Eddy looked up, slightly shocked. His old man had never proposed a summer job before; Eddy usually relied on his elaborate, albeit short-sighted, summer scams to get by with cash. He always figured his old man thought he was too immature to work at the car lot. He smiled a wide grin and slowly nodded his head up and down, taking a proud sip of OJ and wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"Now the pay ain't the best, but I'll match the work you put in, if you put in the right amount. You'll mostly be doing little things; cleaning the cars, waxing them, taping price signs in the windows, putting up balloons, all that crap. But like I said, if you do good at that, I might try you with sales. We've been dipping a little since the peak of tax refund season, but hopefully the summer buyers will be rolling in by July. Play your cards right, you might even have a nice little ride waiting for you by the end of August… how about that!"

"Pops, I like your way of thinking…" Eddy said, pointing a finger-gun at his old man and grinning.

"Isn't that just cute…" his mom said, smiling at her boys "Father and son working together and making money… I think you'll really like it honey. Earning a little money of your own will be good for you, and it won't make you lazy like last summer…"

"A little dough in my pocket sounds like a good summer to me…" Eddy said, eating his last strip of bacon and swigging down the last of the OJ. He got up out of the booth and started strolling out of the kitchen, back to his room to shower and get dressed for the day. His old man and mom simply smiled and shook their head, piling their plates up with the typical clang of china. Holly McGee got up and began transferring all of their various dirty dishes to the dishwasher that sat below the countertop.

"Do you really think that Eddy is ready for something like that, dear? I mean, working at the car lot is a pretty big deal…I just don't know…"

"Ahh, don't worry about it honey…" the old man responded, folding his right leg over his left and nursing his second cup of coffee, "Eddy needs to learn how to earn his money. He graduates in a year, and we can't have him laying around here for years after. I figure if I start him out at the lot, he'll learn a bit about the trade. Lord knows his grades ain't getting him anywhere. I just don't want him to end up like his brother…"

"Ain't that the truth…" she said, shaking her head and piling the last dirty plate into the washer.

Barbara Kanker finally opened her eyes at the bright amount of sunshine that was streaming in through her bedroom window, squinting them to fight back the power. She rolled over and looked at the clock next to her bed and found that it said _8:30 AM. _She could hear the birds chippering away outside, and the sound of Donny up the road revving his motorcycle. Saturday was, on a typical week, one of the few mornings she didn't have to be up at five; but as soon as the weather started getting above freezing, Donny would pull that freakin' motorcycle out and start cranking on the –

Anyway, it didn't matter; she got up and slid into her bathrobe and her slippers, heading out the door and toward the kitchen. She descended the stairs that her father had built several years ago as an addition to the trailer. He had grown very frustrated that his daughter had to live in a trailer in the first place, but he could not tolerate the fact that there was only one bedroom. At first Barbara slept on a pull-out sofa while the girls all shared the one bedroom; after a few weeks of their living there, he hastily drove down, got a permit from the city, and built the small second floor addition onto the trailer. He had wanted to build on to it even more, but the city wasn't very keen on the idea of a permanent grounded residence in a trailer park. She climbed down each step carefully, and she noticed that the light from the kitchen glowed into the darkened living room. She could hear the small CD player/radio in the kitchen playing some ancient 1940s music, and she could hear her tone-deaf father causally singing along. As she rounded the stairs and had clear sight of the kitchen, she saw her father standing over the breakfast bar, frantically whisking a bowl of something and humming away.

"Dad, what on earth are you doing…!" she said, scratching her head and stretching her arms a little. "How long have you been up…?"

"Oh I got up around six or so; I wasn't really sure. I helped myself to some coffee, I hope you don't mind. I made a whole pot..." he said, transferring the bowl over to the counter next to the stove, where a pan was heating up.

"Not at all dad…" Barbara responded, shuffling into the kitchen and pouring herself a cup of coffee. She stirred in her normal cream and sugar, before glancing at her father's mug on the breakfast bar; black as night and looked about as strong as steel.

"Still drinking it black, huh dad…?" she asked, sipping from her own mug and cutting a lamp on in the living room. She perched up on the breakfast bar and leaned over it, smiling as she looked at her father.

"Been drinking it that way for sixty years…" he said, searching the various drawers in search of something.

"What are you looking for dad?"

"Ladle…I'm looking for like a um….a soup ladle…"

"Over there to your right, in that big jar on the counter. Should be one in there…" she pointed, taking a second sip.

He glanced over and squinted his eyes through his thick glasses, and finally he saw exactly what he was looking for.

"Ah yes, that's the one…" he said as he grabbed it and began ladling out circular disks of batter into the hot, buttery pan. He picked up his spatula and eyeballed the pan, waiting for the precise moment to flip.

"I figured you girls could use a nice homecooked breakfast for a change. And no one makes them better than me…" he chuckled, flipping the substance in the pan and looking to his daughter.

"Making your famous Dutch pancakes there, dad?" she asked, sipping her coffee and kicking her feet back and forth on the stool.

"Naturally…" he replied, watching the pancake rise up in the pan into a fluffy, buoyant dome. He chuckled once more as he transferred it to the growing stack of pancakes that he was keeping warm in the oven. "Welp, I suppose I could use a wee break. Those will keep warm in there, and I don't suppose the girls will be getting up anytime soon…"

"No…" she giggled to herself, "they'll sleep all day if you let them. But I'm sure the smell of that food will get them up in no time. Just fry a little sausage up, they'll come runnin' like goats at a petting zoo!"

"Ha ha, I bet they will!" he replied, washing his hands and drying them off with a paper towel.

"Well I'm heading outside for a smoke; you wanna come out with me dad? I got some plastic chairs out there you can sit on…"

"Sure, that sounds good dear…" he answered back, turning the stove off and walking out into the living room. She followed him out the front door, removing the green Marlboro pack from the robe pocket as the door shut behind them. Opa descended his fresh, newly constructed steps and looked at them with pride and nodded his head. "Yep, now that is fine craftsmanship!"

"Yeah, they're really nice, dad. A whole lot better than the old rotten ones that were here before. I was convinced that one morning I was gonna come out here and my foot would go straight through the planks…"she said, taking a seat on the top step. "The chairs are over there, pull one up if you want…"

Opa grabbed one of the white, plastic chairs that sat to one end of the trailer. He brushed the pine needles and seeds from the seat before he sat down and crossed his legs. He took a large sip from his mug of coffee before sitting it back down.

Barbara pulled a thin cigarette from the pack and placed it between her lips; she cupped her hand over the end and lit it quickly, smoke billowing out like incense at Mass. A grimace smeared across her father's face as he sipped his coffee.

"You really should give those up, Barbara…" he said, waving the smoke out of his face. "They can really hurt you in the end. A buddy of mine just got diagnosed with lung cancer because he smoked those things his whole life…"

Barbara twirled the cigarette around in her hand, eyeing the smoke that came up from the smoldering ashes at the end.

"I know dad, believe me; I've been trying to quit for years. But it's not that easy, and it's one of the few things that keeps me sane, in light of everything…" she dragged off the filter and was sure to blow the excess smoke away from her father. "Besides, you used to smoke too.."

"That was a long time ago, dear, back when we didn't know any better. I picked it up during the war and it took me years to give it up too. I remember how tough it was. But the doctor said it was one of the best decisions I could have made. Plus, they're just too damn expensive…"

"Ain't that the truth…" she said, flicking her ashes down to the pavement and chuckling.

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes; the occasional sip of coffee or puff of cigarette interrupted the silence.

"Do you have to work today…?" he asked, leaning forward.

"Oh, no…" she replied, flicking her cigarette with the ashes falling. "I work every-other Saturday, for the overtime pay. It really helps out, especially when Christmas time rolls in."

"You really shouldn't work so much…" he said, patting her on the hand. "These girls need you, and if you're not careful, they'll start to wander. And I know you don't want that…"

"They're good kids dad, I don't think there's much to worry about…" she replied, dragging a smoke and tossing the filter to the ground. "Anyway, let's get back inside and finish this this breakfast. I'm getting hungry, and I know the girls will be too, when they get up…"

"Sure thing dear, I'm getting rather hungry myself…" he said, getting up behind her and following her back into the house.

Opa went back into the kitchen and Barbara took her rightful place atop the orange plastic stool that sat at the breakfast bar which separated the kitchen from the living room.

"Sausage is in the fridge, dad. Bottom drawer, underneath the cheese".

"Ah yes, thank you dear. Nothing like a little sausage to wake those girls up…" he responded, leaning into the fridge and grabbing the package of breakfast links. He closed the fridge door behind him and got busy with throwing the plump, pink sausages into a hot pan with a little pat of butter: his secret ingredient in pretty much anything.

"Oh trust me dad; as soon as they smell that sausage, they'll come sprinting. Sometimes it's the only way I can get them out of bed…" Barbara chuckled as she came in to pour herself a second cup of joe.

Not long after the sizzling sausages filled with trailer with a buttery, savory aroma, the bedroom door opened wide and all three sisters pilled into the living room with eager eyes and empty stomachs; they sniffed and snarled like a pack of hounds, and Lee even rubbed her tummy in anticipation.

"I thought I smelled some sausage fryin' up in here!" she called out, sitting down next to her mother at the bar.

"Yeah, it sure does smell delicious!" May said, plopping down on the sofa and grabbing the remote. She flicked the TV on and scrolled through the channels.

Marie stretched her arms and sat down next to May, trying to get the remote from her with little success.

"It sure does!" Barbara said to May, giving her daughters "the look" so they wouldn't start bickering. "Your Opa got up early this morning to cook for you all, so you'd better be thankful when you get.

"Oh we sure are!" Lee replied, licking her lips. She got up and went into the kitchen, giving her grandfather a warm hug. "Thank you Opa, sure is nice to have a man around the house…"

"Oh, you're quite welcome sweetie… I know how you girls like to eat…" he said, warmly embracing her before letting go to stir the browned sausages. Lee popped the fridge open and grabbed the carton of OJ that sat on the bottom shelf. She screwed the top off, gave it the obligatory sniff, and poured it into a blue plastic cup. She carried it back with her to the bar, and sat right back down.

"You sure didn't hurt yourself asking anyone else if they wanted something to drink…" May whined at Lee from the sofa, crossing her arms.

"Well you didn't hurt _yourself _getting off your lazy a-"

"That's enough girls!" Barbara said as she whipped around on the stool, holding up her finger. "You had better cool it down right now!"

"That's right girls, you'd better listen to your mother. Or else you won't get any of this…" Opa said as he pulled the tray out of the oven containing all the poofy, delicious pancakes.

"ooh let me at em!" Lee said, licking her lips and clenching her fists. "Nothing like Opa's Dutch pancakes on a Saturday morning…"

"One at a time now girls, there's enough here for everybody!" he said, flipping the stove off and pouring the sausages into a little square dish. Barbara and Lee went into the kitchen as May and Marie took their places at the breakfast bar. Barbara got down some of the assorted plates from the cabinet over the sink, and Lee got the bottle of syrup out of the fridge, along with the carton of OJ. The girls formed an assembly line in the kitchen, each one grabbing a plate with fork and knife, watching as their grandfather piled their plates with pancakes and sausages until there was no more room. Barbara protested a little at the sheer volume of food, but Opa quickly disregarded her protests with the demand that everyone gets as much as they want. The three girls sat at the breakfast bar and ate, while Barbara sat at the little square table on the other side of the kitchen. She invited her dad to take a seat across from her at the table, but he chose to eat his food standing up at the counter.

"Why do you eat standing up like that Opa?" May asked, stuffing some pancake into her cheeks and chewing away.

"Oh, I don't know…" he said, not really realizing he was even doing that. "Just out of habit, I guess. Back in the war we usually ate our rations standing up, unless you wanted to get your uniform muddy. I guess I just carried that little habit with me."

"Opa, don't you ever feel bad for having been a Nazi…?" May then asked, finishing her pancake and swallowing it down with some OJ.

Barbara's face swelled in shock and her eyes widened. She turned around and looked straight at May:

"Now May, you know you shouldn't ask your Opa questions like that! We've been over this a thousand times! Don't bring up those-"

She was cut off by her father, who chuckled and waved his hand. He swallowed a piece of sugar-dusted pancake (no syrup) and turned to his daughter.

"Dear, dear, it's okay! No need to get so worked up! I'll handle it, like I always have." He smiled and leaned against the counter, facing the three girls at the bar and looking specifically at May.

"Now May, you must understand something: I wasn't a Nazi; I was a conscript in the German military. A Nazi was someone that was a member of the party; I wasn't. I was essentially a prisoner in a uniform. I had no choice in the matter. But I tried to make the best of it and get along. For my brothers, it was very much the same way. We all tried to make the best out of a very bad situation. War buddies are still war buddies, no matter which side you fight on. We still joked and played cards and traded cigarettes because we had to, to stay sane at least. I'm not proud of the things I did or the things I saw others do; but I am fond of the memories I made with the people I grew close to. It's the only way to not go crazy when they get shot or blown up…"

May quietly looked down at her now empty plate, and the room took a much more somber mood than it had earlier. The TV squeaked with some commercial about allergy medicine, and the delicate sound of silverware clattering on plates was more evident since no one was speaking.

"Anyway, enough of that foolishness…" he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin and putting his plate in the sink. "You girls finish eating and go get dressed. We're going to go to the mall today and have a little bit of fun; my treat!"

"Yay!" the girls screamed out in unison as they dismounted their stools and went pouring into their bedroom to start getting ready. Opa probably underestimated the length of time it would take for three teenage girls to "get ready".

Barbara smiled and got up from the table, pushed her chair in, and walked over to the sink. She gathered all the dirty dishes and started to rinse them with hot water.

"Thanks for the breakfast, dad. Here, let me clean up!"

"It sure did fill me up!" he said, patting his belly and smiling.

"You really shouldn't be spending all this money on us though, dad. You've spent enough already…" Barbara said, putting on her gloves and scrubbing the dishes.

"Oh nonsense…" Opa said, waving his hand through the air and leaning up against the bar. "I get plenty of money with my pension and retirement; besides, you girls are plenty worth it. You deserve to be treated like this every now and then. Gives you reasons to live!"

"I guess so…" she said, chuckling and putting the last of the plates into the drying rack. She snapped her gloves off and tucked her hands into her robe pockets.

"Now you go get ready to, dear! Got a big day ahead of us!"

And indeed, it was a big day at the mall for the Kanker family. They walked around to all the stores and Opa bought the girls enough make up and clothes to last a lifetime. Barbara wanted to reject, but he insisted. For her he bought a new purse and some new pots for her kitchen – stainless steel! They all had lunch in the food court, and afterwards the sisters went to the arcade with a ten dollar bill a piece for some play time. Opa went to the candle shop to watch them make candles, and Barbara spent close to an hour in one of those massage chairs. By evening time, they were all pretty tired. They piled into the old Lincoln and Opa treated everyone to ice cream from the shop that Lee worked at.

It was the most fun the girls had had in a long time, and Barbara knew that they needed more days like this. Part of her wished that Opa wouldn't go back. By eleven o'clock that night, the girls were passed out in front of the TV, and Opa had fallen asleep in the chair with them. Barbara watched with particular wonder at the family she desperately wanted to keep together.


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15 – Sunday Will Never Be the Same _

There was a loud banging noise on the door –

"_Son, time to get up now…come on son time to get up…." _

The banging continued, the poor wood of the door feeling the abuse. There was the occasional jiggle of the doorknob, and then the banging continued…

"_Son, come on son, you don't want to be late today…now come on, get up!" _

Eyes finally popped open and ears heard the patter of the banging that was hitting the door. Double D turned over in his bed and saw that the clock read 7:00 AM. He was deathly worried that he was going to be late for the bus to get to school…

But the voice calling for him confused him. He was certain that it was his father's voice, though his father was never there on a Monday morning. This was a most curious affair….

"Edd, are you up yet? Can you hear me knocking?" the voice called out.

"Oh…oh yes father, I'm awake at the present time." He said, quickly fumbling up out of his bed and standing beside it.

"Good, now you need to start getting ready….don't want to be late for church…"

And that's when the look on Double D's face dropped too low for zero. He was thankful that it was not actually Monday, and he was thankful that he was not actually running late for school. But he wasn't very thankful that his father was dragging the family to their monthly church service.

"Coming father…I'll be down shortly…" he called out, cupping his hand over his mouth as he did so. But since there was no response, he figured his father was already gone, probably back down the stairs.

So Double D commenced to quickly make his bed and fumble through his sock drawer to find a nice pair of dress-socks. He muttered his typical mantra of _messy, messy, messy _as he finally found the pair he was looking for; a nice argyle set. He then rummaged through his closet to find his typical church suit; a deep blue number with a white shirt and striped blue-and-white tie. He neatly placed the clothes on his bed and hurried off to the bathroom for a quick shower.

He closed the bathroom door behind him with a gentle thud and switched the light on. The whirling sound of the vent fan swirled around with a low hum, with Double D then looking at his reflection in the mirror. He almost wanted to stare through himself; what a miserable weekend it had been. The day before, Double D's father took the family to dinner at one of the fancier steak places in Peach Creek. Double D was constantly frustrated by his father's pretention. Double D was a modest person and didn't always appreciate that kind of showing off. His father's paychecks were worthy enough; but something made Double D feel like he was not. He also began to notice a definite tension between his mother and father. Over dinner, they seemed as cold and distant as two turkeys in late November. They chatted a little, but there was a different feeling than usual.

The hot water began to spurt out and Double D dipped his toothbrush under it. He brushed his teeth -being sure to count to twenty, up and down, on each section of his mouth. He tried to think of happier thoughts, but he knew something was wrong. The tension was running high, he knew it too well…..

And the water was cut off, the toothbrush returned, and the mouthwash was swished and spit out. The shower began running and the steam billowed out into the tile-clad bathroom, causing the mirror to fog up and the backsplash tiles to become moistened with condensation. ''

Double D eventually exited his room all dressed up. His suit was ill-fitting and bagged up around his ankles. The arms were just a little too short and the whole jacket felt just a little too loose. He of course kept his signature stocking cap on, and he strolled down the hallway and down the stairs.

He found his parents waiting for him in the living room; his father naturally had his Air Force uniform on (he never turned down an opportunity to show that off). His mother was donned in her usual yellow dress that she wore for semi-special occasions. It hugged her figure, perhaps a little too much. Her face was lightly applied with make-up, and he could smell the combined scents of his cologne and her perfume. It was like the smell they use in funeral homes to cover up the dead body.

"Mother, father, I believe I am ready to go now…" he said, each foot coming down the stairs single file.

"Edd, don't tell me you're planning on wearing _that hat _today…" his father responded, standing up and slipping his hands in his pockets.

"Why yes, father, I wear it practically all the time…" he responded, tugging his hat firmly onto his head.

"Alright…" he said, letting out a huge sigh. "Let's get going then…"

With that, the family all piled into the shiny black BMW that sat parted on the curb. Double D sat in the backseat as his father took the wheel and his mother on shotgun. The foul upholstery smell of the interior made Double D feel sick, and it didn't mingle well with his mother's hefty perfume. Luckily the church wasn't too far away, so the ride wouldn't be that miserable. But on the way there, they did pass by the trailer park. Double D perked up in his seat as they rode by and noticed two cars in the driveway instead of one; alongside the Kanker's usual gold Celica, there was an antique looking Lincoln sitting beside it.

"_Must be her grandfather's car…" _he thought to himself, wondering if he'd still be allowed to come over today.

"What a nasty little trailer park…" his father said, turning to his mother. "Shame something like that eyesore has to sit next to our neighborhood; probably brings the property values down…"

Upon hearing this, Double D's mother commenced to smacking his father on his arm. A visual confusion came over his face, before she tugged him by his arm and whispered into his ear. His eyes bulged a little and he nodded up and down rapidly, continuing to drive in silence. Double D's father was most certainly a one-foot-in-the-mouth kind of guy. But at least driving this BMW around made it a silver foot.

Eventually the car pulled up into the parking lot of the _Our Lady of the Creek Catholic Church_, Peach Creek's only claim to a catholic church. It was a brownstone building with two towers jutting out from the front, a la Notre Dame, and a tall bell-tower in the back. Stained glass windows flanked the sides of the church, displaying depictions of the various disciples in various saintly postures. The early morning Sunday light scattered and glittered off the windows and created what seemed like an ocean of blues and reds. The sign out front showed the times for the English service, the Latin service (held only once a month), and the Spanish service. Double D walked slightly behind his parents and could feel the tension from his father's disapproval. He just knew that he was thinking to himself _"if only he'd take that damn hat off…" _

They shuffled in with the others through the big wooden doors that looked as if they would be more fitting on a medieval castle. There were two old men in old suits handing out programs for the service. Double D recognized them as the McGuffin twins; two old geezers who were as Catholic as the pope in the sunshine. They had their nose incredibly deep into church ordeals, and they were always the first to welcome his father into the entrance with a "thanks for your service, Col. Morano" and a "where have you been the past few weeks?" to himself and his mother. Double D always sank behind his mother when walking past the two gatekeepers to this place that he'd rather not be. He simply took his program and kept walking.

The interior of the narthex was dimly lit with hanging chandeliers, with the doors to the nave kept open. People were sliding down pews and taking their normal seats. To the right of the narthex were two great wooden doors behind which the priest and choir boys would emerge and enter the nave at the commencement of the service. Double D could already smell the foul plumes of frankincense burning behind the doors, upsetting his stomach even further. The family stepped past the great wooden font and into the nave. His mother and father happily greeted those around him, receiving endless amounts of _thank you for your service. _The nave had a slender aisle doing down the middle, with several felt-lined pews running down each side. Along the walls, past the columns, were the stations of the cross, occasionally interrupted by statues of saints. At the front was the altar, which glistened with a lustery gold shimmer. To either side of the altar were painted figures of Mary and Joseph jutting from the walls, with open hands; behind the altar was the organ box and the seat for the choir, and above this chamber hung the great white crucifix on the wall. The face of the anguished Christ hung low, mouth open.

Double D and his family took their normal seats in the middle pew. Double D looked around and happily noticed Eddy and his family. Eddy was about as warm to religion as Double D was, but his parents kept the faith pretty well. Unlike Double D, they were there pretty much every week, much to the disdain of Eddy. Double D gave a wave and a "Hiya Eddy!" to his friend, trying to remain relatively quiet. Eddy turned around and saw him, and took it upon himself to strut over to Double D's pew.

"Yo sockhead, what's hanging? You got dragged to this stuffy place too!"

It was then that Eddy noticed Double D's parents whip their head around. His mother smiled, while his father kept his blank expression.

"Oh yeah, what's up Mr. and Mrs. M? Haven't see you guys in a while…"

"Eddy…" his father said, returning to reading the program.

"Hello Eddy, nice to see you again! You look very nice today!" his mother said, smiling and crossing her legs.

Eddy was decked out in a cheesy tan suit with a beige tie. In his mind he was worth a million bucks, but the receipt read more like 24.99 plus tax.

"Ah thanks Mrs. M, you ain't half bad yourself!" Eddy said, thinking some impure thoughts in his mind. Good thing there was some holy water just in the back…

"So Double D, whatcha doing later on today? Me and my old man are hitting the golf course after this, but I was wondering if you was free after, maybe me, you, and monobrow could go do something, ya know?" Eddy said, leaning up against the pew with his elbow.

"I'm not entirely sure Eddy, but I will be certain to let you know at a later time…" Double D responded, smiling and turning back around in his pew.

"Whatever…I'll see ya later…" Eddy said, shrugging his shoulders and waddling back to the pew with his mom and dad. He sat down and began rubbing his chin, trying to feel for the three stubby hairs that had grown in.

Not long after their brief conversation, the organ swelled, and the people all rose to their feet and began singing the processional hymn. Sunlight bent through the stained glass and showered that nave with a particular array of blue and red sparkles that seemed endless. The only thing that kept Double D from losing his mind was the beauty of the pipe organ, one of the most majestic of all instruments. The only thing that kept Eddy from losing his mind were those three hairs of manliness on his chin.

In through the doorway came the golden crucifix held high by an altar boy. Behind him was the parish priest; an older man with solid ash-gray hair and round glasses. His dressings were of the purest white, with gold embroidery which glistened under the light. He was a soft-spoken Jesuit priest who was called Father Espicce. He reached the front of the nave, kneeled at the altar, and crossed himself. He rose again as the organ swelled, marking the conclusion of the song, and stepped up the altar and over to the little wooden podium that sat to one side. The song concluded and the collective voices of the congregation ended in a loose, echoing resonance. The priest cleared his throat and led the congregation in the commencement:

"_In nomin__ē__ patr__ī__ et fili__ī__ et spirit__ū__ sanct__ī__" _

The Kanker trailer was filled with life as they enjoyed yet another delicious pancake breakfast courtesy of the greatest grandfather ever. The clean, glistening dishes sat in the drying rack and the only sign of the great meal was a stack of uneaten pancakes left in the microwave with a paper towel laid neatly over them. Opa had gone out with Barbara to run some errands; she went to get her nails done, and he went to buy a few things for the house. The house was all to the Kanker sisters, who were enjoying the peaceful quietness. They were all gathered in the living room, watching the Sunday wrestling program that always came on at 11 AM. Lee was definitely into it, as her favorite wrester, the Iron Fist, was on today.

"Yeah, give em the chair!" she'd shout out on occasion. "Yeah you got it baby! Go in for the kill, the _kill _baby!"

Marie and May were also enjoying the program, but not as intensely. Every now and then Marie would pump her fist, and May would let out a _yeah!, _ but nothing much more than that. It was a particularly warm morning, as it was the final weekend of April.

"I'm gettin' a little stuffy in here!" Lee said, tugging at her tube-top in an attempt to fan herself. "May, turn that A/C on, will ya!"

"_Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxim__ā__ culpa…" _

The priest pumped his fist to his chest, and the congregation followed. Double D felt guilty for not understanding why all this ritual was necessary. He glanced to the ground often and wished to be back home. He wondered what Marie was doing at that moment; if she too was having to course through her most grievous faults in some ancient ritual…

May cranked the A/C on and with it came the familiar light fuzzy sound. It was far better than the old rackety piece of junk that couldn't cool down anything, even on the hottest of days. Lee felt the gentle, cool breeze hit her neck and she let out a gentle sigh of relief.

"_Thank you May…" _she said in a soft-toned voice, taking a sip from the straw that sat perched in her cup of cold orange juice.

"Hey Lee, where'd Marie go…" May asked, standing next to the sofa and noticing her sister's absence.

"_Yo Marie, where you at!" _Lee called out, cupping her hand over her mouth.

"_I'm in here Lee…" _she called back, the sound coming from the bedroom.

Lee got up and wandered over to the bedroom door on the opposite side of the living room, peering her head in. She saw Marie hunched over the little blue desk that sat against the wall, like some medieval scribe at work. She heard the scratching noises of a ballpoint pen on paper and saw that Marie's right hand was the culprit at work.

"Whatcha writin' there sis…?" Lee said, coming in and leaning over her sister.

"Oh…" Marie responded, as if someone had woken her up from a void in time, "Just a little note for Double D…"

"_Ooh, _is that so…" Lee said, putting her hands on her hips, "Don't tell me you're gonna spill the beans in a love letter! That's a no-go sis! The guy's gonna take one look at that letter and think you're a psycho… he'll have a restrainin' order in no time." Lee reached over to grab the piece of paper – but Marie huddled over it with her body as protection.

"No no no Lee, you got it all wrong!" she said, as Lee backed up a little. "It's not a _love _letter; it's just a little…reminder…that's all…"

"Reminder…? Reminder for _what_?" Lee asked, hands on hips.

"Well, last week I kinda invited Double D over for some time today…" Marie said with a cheese-eating grin.

Lee shook her head and sat down on the edge of the bed, crossing her arms in the process.

"And when did you think it would be a good time to tell anyone…? And what about Ma, huh…? This ain't the kinda thing she'll take kindly to. She ain't much on guests anyway. And with Opa here… Jesus Marie, you really should've thought this through a little…". She shook her head and pushed some of her curly red mess over her right ear.

"Sorry Lee…" Marie said, hanging hear head low. "I guess I'll just throw this note out then…"

Marie began as if she were going to ball up the notebook paper and toss it out. Lee noticed the pitiful face that her sister started to put on, and the slight sound of whimpers that she gave off. Perhaps it was guilt, or perhaps it was annoyance (maybe a little of both); but Lee's heart softened enough to thrust her hand out and stop her sister from crumpling that little slip of paper.

"_Let me see it…_" she said, flipping her hand over and showing her exposed palm to Marie.

"Okay…" Marie responded, pouting a little less and slowly placing the paper in Lee's hand.

Lee stretched the paper out and glanced over the writing upon it:

_Dear Double D, _

_ Hey, This is Marie. I just wanted to let you know that your _

_ Still welcome to come over today, if you want that is. _

_ Just knock on the door _

_ Marie _

Lee shook her head up and down as she read the words in her mind. She then looked up at her sister, who had been watching her read it.

"What do you think…?" Marie asked, patting her sister on the arm. "Too simple…?"

"Nah, it looks good Marie…" Lee responded, slapping the paper with the other hand. "But you did use the wrong "_your"; _see…?

Lee pointed to the wrong usage of the word on the second line. Marie noticed and shook her head up and down in agreement.

"Oh, that must have slipped past me…" she said, "Do you think he'll notice, or even care…? Should I fix it…?"

"Nah, I wouldn't worry about it…" Lee said, handing the paper back to Marie. "If he does notice it, I doubt he'll really give a shit."

"So you think I should still – "

"Yes, give 'im the note, Marie…" Lee said, sighing and slapping her sis playfully on the back. "Go on now and take it to his house…"

"But what about Ma…?"

"Don't worry about Ma…" Lee responded, getting up off the bed. "If anything, I'll deal with it tonight. She knows about Double D, and that's half the battle…if she seems funny about it, I'll sort it all out later…"

A sharp grin went across Marie's face, and she stood up and gave her older sister a warm embrace; she even kissed her cheek.

"Thanks Lee…you're the best big sister ever!"

"Alright alright enough with the gushy crap…" Lee joked, hugging her sister and then breaking it up, "save it for Double D, huh…?" She winked and grinned at Marie.

"Oh…yeah, right…" Marie said, blushing and turning around, folding the note up and putting it into her jean pocket.

"Well go on!" Lee said, "You'd better get this thing done before Ma and Opa get back… they wouldn't be too happy to see you gone…"

"Alright, well, I guess I'll do that then…" Marie said, heading toward the front door. "I'll be back soon…"

"We'll be here…!" Lee called out, with Marie carefully heading out the front door, hearing the latch on the screen door close behind her back. She took careful steps down the three wooden steps. She felt light as a feather, and assumed she was walking on pure air until she heard the crunch of gravel beneath her shoes. Her heart was flittering at a mile per minute, and the warm, humid spring air caused little beads of sweat to form on her forehead. She journeyed on but felt as if this was some noble quest destined for failure.

"_Take this, all of you, and eat of it; _

_For this is my body which will be given up for you…" _

The priest broke the wafer as a little bell rang from the corner of the nave. The air was dead silent as the congregation watched on. He then lifted the golden chalice:

"_Take this, all of you, and drink from it; _

_For this is my blood; the blood of the new and everlasting covenant _

_Which will be poured out for you and for many_

_For the forgiveness of sins…_

_Do this in memory of me…" _

The bell rang once more, and there was dead silence.

Marie trudged through the deadly silent cul-de-sac. It seemed that Sunday morning was not the best time to find any signs of life. It was eerie to see no one about, no one at play, and no one even existing. The humid air had caused Marie to sweat just a little, and she had a little trouble remembering which house was Double D's at first. She wandered down the road a ways until it finally struck her that his house was the one all the way at the end of the street. She noticed a car in the driveway, but it looked like no one was at home.

"_Must be at church afterall…" _Marie thought to herself, creeping up to the front door and trying to gaze through the little windows on it. All the lights were off and no sounds were coming through. She wandered around to the side of the house and noticed that a window was open on the second floor. She knew for a fact, based on the geography, that this was Double D's room. He must have forgotten to shut his window before he left.

Marie thought for a second on how she would be able to get the note up to his window. She pondered on making it into a ball and throwing it; but that wouldn't look very good, now would it? After a few minutes, the thought finally struck her: _paper airplane_.

She folded the rectangular piece of paper into a small little paper airplane (she'd become an expert at making them in school). She stepped back a little, aiming for the window, and threw….

But no luck. It arced over in a parabola style and punched itself into the ground.

"crap…" she said, picking it back up and straightening the nose back out.

She stepped back a little further this time and threw with all her might, hoping that the wind would carry it the rest of the way. She winced her eyes as her hands let go, taking on the moral avatar of Joe Montana. She dared not look, but she did anyway; and to her surprise, the paper airplane flew right through the opening in the window and landed safely on the floor in his room.

"_Yes!" _she said, pumping her fist up and down. The mission was accomplished, so she turned around awkwardly and headed back down the road, back home.

"_Go in peace" _

The priest kneeled at the altar one last time and departed, with the crucifix proceeding him. The organ teetered back and forth on some forgotten exit hymn as the congregation, which included Double D, departed. The sun was much higher in the sky now and cast shadows on the pews as it refracted through those great stained-glass windows. Plumes of incense still filled the air, a frankly burnt and unappealing smell.

Eddy ran into Double D as they were coming down the center aisle:

"Yo Double D, is that guy long winded or what…?" Eddy said, thumbing behind him to the altar.

"Yes, he certainly can deliver a lengthy service…" Double D responded, seeming exhausted; probably didn't help that he overslept.

"Well me and my old man are going to shoot some holes over on the old golf course…I'll see you around later…" Eddy said, patting his friend on the back and speeding up to his parents.

Double D and his family finally piled back into the sleek BMW and the family headed off to have lunch at some place in town. He was really happy about this, however; because his father was leaving just after lunch. He had his suitcase in the trunk, and was merely dropping his mother and him off at the house.

The family had their lunch: Double D had a turkey and cheese panini with a fresh baby spinach salad on the side. His father had a BLT with some house-made kettle chips, and his mother had an artisan grilled chicken salad with some light vinaigrette. The family didn't say much over lunch; they never really did. Double D's father always enjoyed his "active service members" discount of 15% and left it at that.

They all piled back into the BMW, and they were homeward bound. When they pulled up, nothing had changed about the old house. Nothing except the fact that only fifteen minutes before, a certain blue-haired girl had chucked a paper-airplane through a certain bedroom window. But besides that fact, everything else was normal.

"Goodbye son, I suppose I'll see you this time next month…" Double D's father said, extending his hand. Double D shook his hand with firm resolve with a painted smile. Cold bastard didn't even offer a hug.

"Farwell father…" he responded, releasing his hand. "I hope that your travels are safe and I hope to hear from you soon…".

His parents hugged briefly with an awkward kiss, and his father got back into the car, waved, and drove off.

"Well, have you got anything planned for today, honey?" Double D's mother said, fumbling in her purse for the key to the house. The two stepped up the stoop as she finally located the keys and got busy with unlocking the door.

"Nothing in particular mother; I think I'll finish up on my homework and possibly go for a walk." He responded; his voice still exhausted.

"Sounds good to me!" she smiled, unlocking the door and letting them in. She went straight for the kitchen, while he headed up the stairs to his bedroom. Truth be told, he simply wanted to go back to bed.

He opened his door and flipped the switch to turn on the light. He looked down and noticed an odd piece of paper in the middle of the floor. He thought maybe the wind had blown off one the papers on his desk, but upon further inspection he noticed it was in the shape of a paper airplane. He hadn't been in the business of manufacturing paper airplanes in years, and the closet neighbor he had was Rolf; he wasn't sure if Rolf even knew what an _airplane_ was. He was just going to toss it into the bin, but for humor he decided to open it up. At first glance he noticed the writing, and it was then he nearly fell backwards; _it was Marie…_

He read the contents of letter and noticed that she signed off with a little heart next to her name. He had no idea what to make of that, but he wouldn't entertain the idea that it was a bad thing. He gently placed the note on the edge of his bed and began dressing back into his normal attire; his comforting red t-shirt, his navy-blue shorts, and his sneakers. The shedding of his skin returned his countenance back to normal, and he closed the door behind him, the note remaining on his bed as he went.

He casually and silently treaded down the stairs, until that one middle stair moaned out a dreadful creak.

"Where are you going off to dear?" his mother asked, coming into the living room.

"Oh well, Eddy invited me to go hang out with him and Ed, so we're going to do our normal things I suppose…" he spit out, his tongue tripping on every word of the fib.

"Well stay safe and have fun…!" she said, returning back to the kitchen. "_Just be home in time for dinner…" _she said, her voice trailing off into the other room.

"Yes mother…" he called out. He pushed the beads of sweat off his brow and let out a sigh of relief. He closed the front door behind him and strutted up the street. He passed by Rolf tending his garden and Jonny was taking a Sunday nap in his hammock; with Plank, of course. The warm noon heat of a late-April day was beaming down upon him, and he worried about sunburn. He cut through the shortcut and heard the gravel crunching beneath his feet as she stumbled upon the trailer park. He carefully walked towards the center trailer, noticing the two cars out-front and the litany of cigarette butts lying on the ground around the steps. He noticed how much nicer the trailer looked; there were flowers outside, beautiful flowers. The door was painted a fresh coat of white, and the rust spots were gone from the exterior of the trailer itself. He heard the air-conditioner humming from outside, but it didn't sound like a bomb ready to explode at any moment. The steps leading up to the front door were no longer rotting and falling apart; they were fresh wood, waterproofed as well. He thought he might be at the incorrect trailer for a second, but the cars out front suggested otherwise. He gulped in and swallowed some pride as he mounted the steps and carefully walked towards the front door.

He closed his eyes and gently knocked three times with his knuckles. He hoped for the best but expected the worst.


End file.
